


Es Anima Mea

by mymaskismywords



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angels, Demons, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mostly in Hawaiian and Latin though, Slowish build, Some English swearing, Swearing, There may be other characters but they are briefly mentioned, War, lots of english swearing, whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-09-08 00:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8823226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mymaskismywords/pseuds/mymaskismywords
Summary: "If there was really some higher power out there don't you think they would've intervened by now?! Look around you! We're on our own! The world's gone to shit, and we have to get out of it. No one's coming to save us, and certainly not some righteous power. We're fucked and we've got no one to blame but ourselves."I was speechless, her voice shook with a passion I'd never heard from her before, her eyes shone with emotion that made me slightly afraid and overwhelmingly sad.I wanted to tell her that she was wrong, but I was having a hard time even convincing myself. Hell, I was an angel, and even I was beginning to doubt. Thinking of the world my kind had destroyed, of the people my kind had killed without batting an eye, it all made me sick. The only reason I was with this girl now was because the angels wanted her dead, and I couldn't let that happen.While we sat side by side bathed in the light and warmth of the fire, both our minds lost in their own whirlwinds, I finally came to the realization I'd been suppressing for so long. I was in love with this girl. And if it meant betraying my entire race and risking the fate of the world to protect her, so be it. Angel falls in love with a human AU





	1. Aden

I’ve never known the Coelum in a time of peace. We’ve been at war for as long as I remember. Not a single day passed where there wasn’t fighting between Virum de Lumine and the Facienti Malum. The Earth below me was scarred with reminders of past battles, a once vastly beautiful world turned into a desolate war zone for those who no longer remember what it was like to live on it  
Not that I remembered what it was like to live on the ground, but sometimes while I sat alone; staring out at the jagged peaks of mountains that cut harsh outlines against the night sky, or watching fierce rivers rush on, undeterred by the destruction of their surroundings, I got impressions of what it used to be like to look up and hope rather than looking down not a trace of hope to be felt.  
If I sat and let my mind wander out of my reach to pull it back sometimes long buried memories of my life would surface. They were vague memories, sometimes I doubted they were anything more than delusions. I closed my eyes as I conjured up the image of the clearest of these visions.  
_I could feel moist earth under my feet, and smell a mixture of rain and pine in the air. Pine trees rose up on either side of a thin dirt trail. The sun shone occasionally, sending weak rays through a thick layer of clouds over head, a warm breeze kept the heavy air from becoming too uncomfortable. I was happy, smiling despite the gloomy weather. My smile grew wider as I heard a feminine, bell-like laugh from behind me, the sound sent a surge of affection through my chest, I turned to greet the owner of the wonderful laugh…_  
Nothing. I never saw anything past that. My inability to remember the person who had apparently made me feel so happy always created a mixture of emotions in me. Frustration, anger, sadness, disappointment, longing…these feelings became duller and duller the longer I spent in the Coelum; the longer I was dead.  
“I knew I’d find you here.” I started and turned to look at Lexa, another Virum de Lumine like myself, though she’d been at the job much longer than I had. Her power and authority literally radiated from her in a soft hazy glow.  
Despite my melancholy mood, I couldn’t help but smile softly as she came to sit next to me in the empty windowsill. Our legs dangled out swinging lazily over a drop off thousands of miles above the surface of the Earth.  
She swept her intricately braided brown hair over one shoulder, green eyes scanning the distant mountain range just as I had been doing moments earlier.  
Lexa was still relatively young compared to some Virum, only a couple hundred years old, but she was much more powerful than most of them, and wiser too. She was a ruthless warrior, and commanded nearly every battle fought against the loathed Malum. She was respected to the point of reverence by some, the pinnacle of what a Virum should be.  
But I knew behind closed doors that wasn’t entirely true. She wasn’t nearly as unfeeling, uncaring and duty oriented as she appeared to be in front of the Council, in fact I almost suspect that she may be immune to the slow degeneration of emotion and the ability to defy orders that all Virum were supposed to experience. I never asked her is she still had any memories of before she died, some things were too personal, not to mention just short of illegal.  
We were dead, no longer apart of humanity, there was no point in dwelling on our past lives, it only distracted from our duty to the Coelum. At least that was the Council’s way of thinking, and they went to great lengths to ensure that they’re way of thinking was everybody’s way of thinking.  
“You’ve only seen this place in a time of war.” She said suddenly, motioning to the massive and slightly dilapidated castle that we resided in. From my perspective it seemed to float in midair, suspended on nothing, simply hanging above the world we destroyed. I knew the humans below couldn’t see it, this castle existed in a world unseen by them.  
As I stared a large rock fell loose from a broken battlement and plummeted towards the ground. I frowned. The castle was enchanted, it’s condition matching that of the Coelum. It looked even more fragmented than the last time I had checked.  
We were losing the war; rapidly.  
“You should see it during peace. It’s a breathtaking sight. Surreal.” I watched as another chunk of rock took the plunge.  
“Do you really think it’ll last that long?” I asked turning back to face her. She frowned, avoiding my eye.  
“This isn’t the first war we’ve fought against the Malum.” She said finally, not really answering my question.  
“But this is definitely the worst.” I finished.  
“This is definitely the worst.” She agreed, setting her emerald eyes back on the mountains.  
We sat in silence, both of us lost in our own heavy thoughts.  
The Malum were beings completely opposite of the Virum. They despised organization and they loved chaos and destruction, they were particularly enjoying the state of humanity at the moment, never before had the fighting between the two species so utterly devastated human civilization, at least that’s what I’ve been taught. In fact the state of humanity at the moment was the major reason we were losing the war.  
Virum were angel like creatures, the ascended souls of humans who were good at heart, who were uncorrupt, who were innocent. The Malum were the humans who gave in to every evil temptation, who were selfish and dark in their hearts and souls, demons. They’re single goal was to make as many other people as possible meet a similar fate.  
Like Lexa said, they had fought twice before, using the Earth as a battle ground. As far as I had been told the two previous wars lined up with the two first World Wars down on Earth. And now 100 years after the start of the Third World War there was no end in sight. Humanity was desperately trying to claw away from the brink of extinction, doing whatever it took to survive, this made our job much more difficult. Very few gentle souls were bred in such an environment, however there was plenty of room to grow malicious. The Malum’s ranks swelled greater and greater everyday while our numbers dwindled steadily.  
So, yes, there was an end in sight however it was an end I tried not to think about.  
“You know you get this look on your face whenever you start to think too hard.” Lexa told me, her eyes amused. I frowned, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt amused in this life.  
“I might as well think for myself while I still can.” I told her, throwing caution to the wind. As if to assure just how dangerous my statement was Lexa turned and listened intently for sounds of anyone approaching.  
“You should be more careful with what you say outloud.” She advised, seemingly satisfied that there was no one near enough to over hear our conversation. I was surprised by the spike of frustration I felt, I hadn’t felt an emotion that strongly in a long time.  
“It’s sickening.” I hissed, speaking while my emotion was still tangible. “I sit through all those Council meetings and watch as everyone just nods along with whatever the Council proposes; they’re like mindless sheep. Do they even realize what they’re agreeing to half the time?” Lexa opened up her mouth to respond but I didn’t give her a chance. I just kept talking, I felt that if I didn’t get everything I was thinking out in the open at this moment than I never would.  
“Like today,” I rambled on, “The Council just told all of the Guides that if they came across a wayward human that wasn’t even their charge then they should eliminate that human. But wayward doesn’t mean bound for evil, they could still redeem themselves and end up as a Virum. The Council is so focused on when to spill human blood they never stop to think whether or not they should.”  
Lexa waited a beat to see if I would start talking again. When I stayed silent she sighed.  
“I know this is the last thing you want to hear, and I know this isn’t going to be of any comfort but it’s the truth, alright?”  
Hesitantly I nodded.  
Another sigh. “I know you don’t agree with what the Council does, most newcomer’s don’t. Hell, I don’t agree with them most of the time.”  
I opened my mouth to tell I wasn’t exactly a newcomer, after all I’d been at Coelum for a hundred years, since the start of the Third War, it’s true that wasn’t a ton of time compared to most but I didn’t like being referred to like I was a child. Seeing that I was about to interrupt Lexa continued to talk refusing to let me get a word in edgewise.  
“But you can’t judge them too harshly. They don’t remember what it was like to be humans, to have free will and emotions, they just see humans as pawns; souls that have yet to be collected. They’re submissive to duty just like the rest of the Virum are, their duty is just a lot harder to carry out if they were to start feeling compassionate.”  
We fell silent once again after Lexa had concluded her speech.  
“You used to be a Guide, right?” I asked the much older Virum. “Before they made you a Commander?” She hesitated before answering, obviously trying to gauge where the conversation would go if she answered one way or the other. Finally she nodded.  
“If you were still a Guide would you listen to the Council’s new law?” She closed her eyes and ran a hand over her face as if she was tried, but I knew she wasn’t. Virum don’t sleep. We don’t get tired, or hungry, or thirsty; we follow orders and we die in battle or some other way honorable to the Coelum. That was it, nothing else.  
When she finally took her hands away from her face she looked much less open than I was used to seeing her. “I don’t know what I would do, Aden.” She said stiffly, her voice bordering on cold.  
I was about to ask her another question but she cut me off.  
“I have something important I should get done as soon as possible.” She was back inside the Castle before I could even blink.  
I watched her retreating form, bewildered at her sudden change in demeanor. As though she sensed my eyes on her back she suddenly whirled around to look at me.  
“Watch what you say out loud.” She repeated her earlier advice, however this time it sounded much more ominous. The effect wasn’t softened by the fact that her voice was still noticeably chillier than usual, and I picked up an undertone in her voice that sent a shiver down my spine. Even after she was long gone I felt chilled to the bone for one simple reason. Underneath her ‘Commander’ mask Lexa’s voice had held anxiety, and trepidation.  
Anything that scared Lexa surely didn’t bode well for anyone in the Coelum…


	2. Leilani

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the mistake in the notes on the last chapter, I've edited these first few chapters about a hundred times and I forgot that I had chosen not to introduce Leilani in the first chapter so...  
> Just for good measure I'll retranslate Lei's Hawaiian at the bottom.

“What d’ya think, Polu?” I asked my furry four legged companion. He started up at the formidable looking warehouse. It wasn’t exactly a stronghold, with it’s walls littered with holes, broken windows, fire damage, and general appearance of neglect and abuse. However, it was still standing which was more than could be said for most buildings in the district.   
When the mutt looked up at me with what can only be described as skepticism I sighed.   
“I know it’s not ideal, dog breath. But it’s the best we’ve got.” Polu looked back at the warehouse, resignation clear in his eyes.   
“Good boy.”   
I couldn’t blame my dog’s wariness, I wasn’t so keen on the site either, but we had no other choice. We needed somewhere to crash for the night.   
I pulled my gun out from the holster at my hip. A quick check of the clip told me I had six bullets left.   
“Kanapapiki.” I swore under my breath. The chances of me finding more ammo were slim; the chances of me finding ammo compatible with my gun were astronomical. I was frustrated, but mostly I was worried. Without my gun all I had was a machete. I could wield the long blade fairly well if I do say so myself, but against a fire arm I stood no chance.   
I pushed those anxieties down for now.   
Just make sure the place is secure enough to sleep. I reminded myself. Deal with one day at a time.   
Steeling my nerves I put my gun out in front of me and ducked into the dark interior of the warehouse.   
The light inside was dim and hazy, the darkness only broken by the dying ray of the setting sun shining in through grimy and broken windows. I could only see five feet ahead of me, indistinct objects could vaguely be seen just out of my field of vision.   
Thick layers of dust and dirt lay underfoot, muffling my footsteps. I took comfort in knowing I was moving silently, however my anxiety spiked again when I realized that the dirt would also silence the approach of anyone else in the building.   
I looked around to make sure that Polu was still by my side. The beautifully colored husky was walking beside me, walking slowly with the silent tread of the ‘ilio hae all dogs were descended from. I drew comfort from the presence of another living thing that I knew wasn’t out to get me.   
We continued on with our search of the warehouse for another ten minutes without incident, I was just beginning to feel that we were alone when the unmistakable explosion of a gunshot could be heard from the story above.   
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest and I had to physically bite down on my tongue to keep from spewing a creative string of curses. I crouched behind what appeared to be a large metal crate and I clamped a hand around Polu’s muzzle trying to keep him from barking or howling or making a noise that could give our position away.   
“Kulikuli.” I hissed. “Be quiet.”  
Perhaps sensing my desperation the mutt fell silent, he remained tense though. Poised in a stance that clearly brooked an attack if necessary.   
We sat in silence listening intently for even the slightest of noises. Seconds ticked by. Minutes. Eternities.   
I swore under my breath again.   
“Well, time to go die I guess.” I sighed, crouching low and moving quickly further into the darkness.   
By this time sun had sunk too low in the sky to shine some light through the windows. I moved in almost total darkness, blood rushed in my ears and I was painfully aware of the beat my heart was pounding in my chest. I felt like I was blindfolded; like someone had turned a dial down on all my senses, making them slow and indistinct.   
After stumbling around in the dark for several agonizing minutes I bashed my shin against the bottom most concrete stair of a stairwell. I strained my eyes trying to spot any sign of life. Nothing. My ears picked up nothing more than wind howling through broken walls and window panes.   
I considered leaving. There was no guarantee that whoever fired the gun wasn’t still inside, the chances of spending a safe night here were slim. But then again the chances of spending a safe night anywhere were slim.   
I looked to Polu, he didn’t seem any more on edge than he was behind the crate. I figured he hadn’t noticed anything to be worried about either.   
It’s either take your chances in here or go out in the dark with six bullets left and try to find somewhere else to sleep; in the ruins of Los Angeles to make matters worse.   
The decision wasn’t hard.   
I treaded slowly up the stairs, Polu walking a few steps ahead of me, sniffing the air for threats.   
Suddenly he barked! His head swung left and he darted through a doorway I hadn’t even noticed before that moment.   
“Polu!” I hissed, following after him. I tried to move cautiously, but I knew I didn’t chase after him as carefully as I should’ve. I couldn’t stop myself from practically sprinting after him through one hallway, and down another on the right. Fear for my only friend in the world gripped at my chest like a vice, I suddenly found the stale air hard to breath.   
Polu stopped suddenly and launched into a frenzy. Running in tight circles and howling a high unbroken note that could probably be heard for miles.   
I shot down the last few feet of the hall and dropped to my knees next to the aggravated husky. Clamping both of my hands around his snout I scolded him in a breathless whisper.   
“Be quiet! You’re going to get us both killed!”   
Polu didn’t seem to care. He wrestled himself out of my grip and began to claw frantically at a door on our left that I hadn’t noticed before.   
The noise of claws against the metal was loud and grating and seemed to be amplified by my anxiety and the adrenaline pumping through my system.   
“Don’t do that.” I stood and shoved the large dog away from the door but he wasn’t fazed. He weaved around my legs so fast it nearly made me dizzy, and his whining seemed to be nearly as loud as his howling.   
For the first time I began to wonder what had my dog so worked up.   
I unholstered my gun, though I didn’t remember making the Godawful decision to re-holster my weapon while running blind through an unknown building. I shook my head, and braced my hand against the door.   
It didn’t take much effort to force the door open. Once I had it open enough to slide into the room I braced myself, and, putting my gun in front of me, I sidled inside.   
It took only a quick scan of the room for everything to click into place.   
Soft, yellow moonlight bathed the room and floor, the light cut into harsh slashes by the boards in the only window.   
A man lay on the floor, a scarlet pool around his upper half shone slightly from the weak light. He appeared to be fairly young, older than me though, probably in his twenties or thirties.   
I saw the bullet hole in his right temple, red blood coating that side of his skull and adding to the pool underneath his body. I stepped closer, and saw his eyes staring wide open at the ceiling, a strange expression was frozen on his face. A mixture of fear and peace; anxiety and acceptance.  
The gun sat a few feet away, for a fleeting second I almost considered checking to see what kind of bullets it used, but the thought of raiding his stuff felt so wrong, so…animalistic.   
I studied the scene for a few moments longer, slowly growing sick to my stomach. I’m not sure why this one death was affecting me so much. I’ve seen death before…I’ve killed before, technically…Still, I don’t think it’ll ever get any easier.   
For the first time I noticed words etched into the concrete floor. Blood had spilled into the scratches and made it difficult to read but after a few tries I managed to decipher the script.  
We’re all DAMNED  
After a few seconds I found my voice. “I agree with you.” I told the poor soul. Images flashed before my eyes almost faster than I could comprehend them. Images of terrible illness, of blood, fire, gunshots, and death. So, so, so much death. I could hear the screams and pleas for help. I could feel hands clawing at my skin as I ran from my fate and left everyone else to theirs.   
I sank to my knees, the familiar weight of grief and guilt holding me down like an anchor, drowning me. Holding me just below the surface, knowing air is right above me while water fills my lungs.   
“Yeah.” I whispered, “We’re all damned.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Polu-Blue  
> Kanapapiki-Son of a bitch  
> 'ilio hae- Wolf  
> Kulikuli-Be quiet/ Shut up
> 
> Again sorry for the mess up


	3. Aden

I’ve watched the same sunrise ascend over the same mountain range for a hundred years now, and not once did it fail to take my breath away, or take my mind off whatever was plaguing it. The soft mixture of pinks and golds melded with the wispy clouds and the snow capped mountain peaks making the sky swirl like a bubbling pot of warm color. I knew I wasn’t the only one watching the sunrise, Clarke sketched the scene every morning religiously. I’ve even caught some of the older Virum watching the morning sun with something close to…longing.   
The thought that some older Virum still felt anything was a hard concept for me to wrap my head around, let alone the thought that they may in fact be longing for something.   
Perhaps their old lives. I mused. Did they even remember their old lives? I certainly didn’t, at least not much, not anything to really miss. Maybe they were longing to remember their old lives? Or maybe to feel human again?   
I was cut out of my thoughts by a cheerful voice. “You’re always staring out some window.” Jerome sat next to me without ceremony, probably fresh from some act of insubordination. I rolled my eyes, honestly glad for the insanity he was sure to bring. His crazy seemed to be the only thing that kept me sane half the time.   
“I was looking for you.” He continued, undeterred by my silence, he would surely talk enough for the both of us. “I knew you wouldn’t be hard to find, after all you’re always in like the same three places. Why is that anyway?” I opened my mouth to answer but he was already on to another topic, I zoned out, confident he wouldn’t notice my inattention. He talked on animatedly. He was certainly a character, he probably wasn’t much older than I was, physically at least. I’d been at the Coelum nearly twice as long as the dark skinned teen had.   
Jerome was probably my best friend in the Coelum, though overwhelming at times he was still extremely human, more so than even Lexa. He acted like himself at all times, much to the annoyance of nearly everyone. He was probably the only person that ever actively went against the Council. Subtly of course, obvious unconformity was dangerous, we’ve all seen what happens to anyone that attempted that. I used to shudder at the memory, now it just made me slightly uncomfortable.   
“Earth to Aden.” Jerome’s voice knocked me out of my thoughts. He was waving hands in front of my face, slightly offended that I hadn’t been listening.   
“Do you know what’s wrong with Lexa?”   
I sat up straighter, immediately giving the other Virum my full attention.   
“Something’s wrong with Lexa?” I wasn’t really surprised, her sudden mood change the night before was enough to give me misgivings, but the fact that she was being obvious enough for even Jerome to notice was strange. My friend simply shrugged, “Yeah, she was heading towards the Meeting Hall looking ready to kill. I’m sure you’ll figure out why soon enough though.”  
“Why would she tell me what was wrong with her?”  
“Not her, the Council.”   
“Why would the Council tell me what was wrong with her?”  
He shrugged again, “I don’t know, but they’re gonna tell you something since they sent me to find you.” I started.  
“Jerome!” I hissed reproachfully, “Why didn’t you say that to start with?!”   
“Cause then we never would’ve had this nice conversation. You’d have instantly went off to see whatever it was that they wanted. Kind of like you’re doing now.” I ignored him as I pushed myself to my feet and quickly made my way towards the center of the Coelum. Towards the Meeting Hall. What the hell did the Council want with me? Had someone overheard mine and Lexa’s conversation last night? Had she been summoned too? Were they going to charge us both with insubordination, or worse treason?   
By the time I had made it to the corridor outside the Meeting Hall I was sure I was in the midst of a panic attack. Apparently under the right conditions I was still fully capable of feeling fear and panic. Perfect.   
I attempted to quell my nerves, it didn’t work. Finally I decided it was better to just get it over with, it was infinitely worse standing out here with my thoughts.   
I slowly made my way towards the immense wooden doors at the very end of the corridor. My footsteps echoed in the cavernous space, the murals painted on the stone walls seemed to watch me as I passed, probably trying to decipher my fate just like I was.   
After what felt like an eternity I was in front of the doors, studying the intricate carvings in the wood, especially the words carved at the very top.   
Bellatores non erraverunt. Warriors don’t stray. I’d seen the phrase countless of times, branded into the forearms of the Virum who have completed their training, a constant reminder that free will was a capital crime.   
Screwing up my courage I pushed one of the doors open an inch, and was instantly bombarded with a loud voices. Afraid of intruding I went to shut the door again but paused when I heard my name.   
“Aden’s not ready!” I heard Lexa’s familiar voice call out over the noise. Overtaken by curiosity I chanced a peek into the Hall from the small sliver of the door still left open.   
She was standing in the middle of the floor, hands on her hips, glaring up at the raised platform where the Council sat.   
“It is not your choice. The Council has already passed the vote.” I heard a sharp male voice reply.  
“She cares for the boy, Titus.” Came a softer voice, feminine. “Don’t pretend you don’t know about the extenuating circumstances.” Luna, I recognized the slightly gentler tone than the others. I also recognized the much colder next voice as Nia. “Extenuating circumstances aside, there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t go through with our decision.”  
“Because he’ll die!” Lexa protested. I was too confused, too transfixed to remember that they were referring to me in that moment.  
“Virum are being killed everyday! Virum who are much more experienced than he is, mind you.”  
“Control yourself, Commander.” Nia demanded quietly, still her words were just as biting as if she had yelled them. “It’s not like we’re sending him into battle, he’ll be as safe as can be expected.”   
“Not nearly as safe as he would be if he remained here.”   
A new voice joined the conversation, gruff, but not nearly as hard as Nia’s. Gustus.  
“Why don’t we let the kid speak for himself. He’s outside listening as we speak, he might as well get a chance to contribute.”   
I stood stock still, holding my breath. I swear even my heart stopped as silence reigned on both sides of the massive door. Finally I heard Luna speak, “Why don’t you come in, Aden.” My heart picked it up double time.   
I felt every pair of eyes on me as I slowly made my way into the Meeting Hall. It was an impressive place, the size of a cathedral, even topped with a glass dome. I knew the walls were painted with murals and covered in tapestries, Clarke loved them. But at that moment I didn’t notice any of this, I was too busy trying to keep my expression impassive, hoping my anxiety wasn’t showing through.   
I came to stand next to Lexa, I had to tilt my head up slightly so I could see where the Council sat. Every seat in the Hall was raised above the floor, and the Council’s seats sat above all the others. While you were on the floor everyone literally looked down at you.   
“Do you know why you’re here, Aden?” Luna asked, once again sounding almost…kind. I hesitated for a second, then shook my head. I still wasn’t quite sure what they wanted with me, but it can’t be anything good.   
“You’re being promoted.” Luna smiled. I felt Lexa stiffen beside me.   
“What exactly does that mean?” I asked once I was sure I could keep my voice steady.   
“It means exactly what it sounds like. You’ve completed your training, we’re assigning you.” Titus’ irritation was clear in his voice.   
“With all due respect…” I said slowly. “I haven’t completed my training, I wouldn’t be very useful.”  
“See what I mean.” Lexa interjected, “He isn’t ready. You’ll have to find someone else.”   
“Lexa.” Nia addressed, her voice taking on the glacial tone that earned her the nickname ‘The Ice Queen’. Her smile was much colder than her voice though. “You’re concerns have been heard by the Council. Your presence is no longer required.” I watched as Lexa stared daggers at Nia, for a second I thought she was actually going to refuse her. Finally the fight still burning in her eyes she gave a stiff nod. She squeezed my shoulder as she passed, “Good luck. And be careful.” She whispered, though the last part sounded a bit like a plea. I gave a small nod. A small part of me wanted to beg her to stay, I already felt so vulnerable under the intense gaze of the Council, dealing with it alone definitely wouldn’t help.   
Instead of begging her to stay I simply kept my eyes trained just above the heads of the Council members, trying not to catch anyone’s eye. I just barely managed not to flinch when the heavy door closed with a sound like rolling thunder.   
“We’re going to be blunt with you, Aden.” I allowed myself to look Gustus in the eye, he was like Luna, much kinder than the others.   
“We’re desperate.” He seemed to be trying to sound sorry. “You’re right, you haven’t finished training, but you’re the best choice we have. Lexa speaks highly of your abilities. I don’t imagine this is how she was hoping things would happen for you.”   
“There are a lot of things I think she was hoping wouldn’t have happened how they did.” I watched as Gustus’ mouth twitched into what might have been the faintest hint of a smile.   
“I suppose you have a point there.” He admitted. I was beginning to get tired of all this back and forth, I just wanted to know exactly what they wanted from me, since they clearly weren’t charging me with treason.   
“You want me to do a job, on Earth I’m guessing. What job exactly?”  
“We’ve decided to make you a Guide.” Nia announced.   
Well I wasn’t expecting that. I figured maybe a Scout, or a Messenger, but a Guide? They must be really desperate to give me that job without finishing my training. After all, Guides basically choose who the next Virum will be.   
“You already have me paired then?”   
“Yes.” Luna assured, taking over for Nia. “A girl named Leilani Moore, she’s sixteen. Alone as far as we can tell. And she’ll be very easy to keep on track.”   
I nodded, unsure of what I was really supposed to do at this point.   
“Well,” Nia broke in standing from her seat. “Shall we get on with it, then?”   
“Hold on, Nia.” Luna stood as well, giving the Ice Queen a look cold enough to rival her own. “He still has to accept the job.” She turned to face me again, the question hanging in the air. I nodded, not that I could really deny the job anyway. “Now we can move on.” Luna conceded. In the blink of an eye the Council stood before on the Hall’s floor. I resisted the urge to take several steps backward, and instead I held my ground, trying to meet their gazes steadily. There were numerous members of the Council present who hadn’t said a word, and even now they simply glanced at me with indifference. It was obvious this meeting hadn’t been of any importance to them. Then there were those like Luna and Gustus attempting to look reassuring or even sympathetic, they weren’t very convincing but the effort was there. And finally there was Nia, eyes glinting in such a way that made me suddenly remember what was supposed to happen now.   
I slowly turned towards the corner where a large marble brazier sat, and sure enough a large fire crackled in the heart of the stone bowl, burning so brightly it was a wonder I hadn’t noticed it until now. We all moved slowly towards the hearth, a tense atmosphere had suddenly descended upon the group. Even those who couldn’t care less just a few moments ago were watching with rapt attention.   
I watched as Gustus stood by the flames and grasped the handle of the brand. Hesitantly, I pulled up the sleeve on my left arm.  
It’s been a hundred years since I’ve felt pain, for a fleeting second I wondered if this would even hurt. Then I caught sight of Nia watching intently from across the flames. I saw the way her eyes were shinning, the hard smile that had played across her lips, and I had my answer. I took a deep breath and readied myself, this was going to hurt like a bitch.


	4. Leilani/Aden/Lexa

**Leilani:**

 

I woke up in an instant biting down on a scream, convinced my flesh was burning. However, the sensation disappeared as soon as it had come, leaving me to believe it must have been the product of some hyper realistic dream. That thought was enough to convince me that I wasn't going to get anymore sleep. In the hazy gray light of dawn I began to pack my stuff back up for the millionth time. I couldn't help but fall into the packing routine that my father had ingrained in my head since the day I was old enough to carry my own weight

 

_Provisions first, preferably dehydrated, they last longer._

 

_Then, water skins, as many as you can keep with you. Water will always be your most valuable survival tool._

 

_Miscellaneous supplies go in the middle._

 

_The top is reserved for your most important supplies, things you'll have to be able to grab quickly. This includes any extra weapons, ammo, and your medical supplies, as well as matches and your fire starter kit._

 

Despite my father's advice, I tucked my brother's hunting knives, my mother's sewing kit, and my father's journal near the top, It made me feel better to know they were easy to get to, now that my actual family was so...inaccessible. The last thing I did was tie my folded up sleeping mat to the top of my pack and throw the last few scraps from my last meal to Polu. He licked up the meager morsels and stared at me forlornly.

 

"Sorry, bud. That's all we've got. Maybe we'll get more once we get out of the city." _W_ _hat's left of it,_ I thought bitterly. With one last glance around to make sure I didn't leave anything, Polu and I made our way back the way we had come. On the way out, we passed the room with the man. _The corpse_. We passed the room with the corpse. I had found a fairly large piece of cloth to lay over his body the night before, it seemed like the only decent thing to do. I vaguely wondered if there was anyone out there that noticed the man was dead, if there was anyone that would want him to have a proper sendoff. Those thoughts could only lead to the inevitable questions; was there anyone out there that would notice if I died? Anyone that would want to give me a proper sendoff? 

 

_Why should anyone do that for you? You didn't do that for your own family?_

 

I shook my head violently, trying to dislodge those particular shadows from my mind. It was never good when those thoughts started this early in the day. 

Polu seemed to notice my agitation, he walked extra close to me, every now and then nudging my hand, effectively drawing my attention back to reality. I realized more strongly than ever that without Polu I would definitely have lost it by now. 

 

We made our way out of the warehouse just as cautiously as we made our way in. Once again I cursed internally at my last six rounds, I hoped I wouldn't need any of them.

 

It was still very early in the day, that combined with the fact that I had intentionally made camp at the very outskirts of the city made me confident that I wasn't very likely to run in to anyone. I made it out of the warehouse and down about two blocks of urban landscape without meeting a single soul. I paused for a second to check my compass, I had to keep going North West, towards Sacramento, so far I was on track. The trek was about 384 miles if I followed the roads, the journey would be even longer if I stuck to my usual strategy of avoiding the roads and by extension confrontation with other survivors. I was just about to dig my father's journal out and look for a map when a low growl from Polu brought me roughly back to reality. I had ducked into a narrow and shadowy alleyway to gather my thoughts and Polu was staring at the far end of the alley that was still cloaked in darkness. I shoved my compass into a pocket of my pants and unsheathed my machete, hoping to get through this without wasting anymore precious ammo. 

 

Polu growled again, his entire body poised to attack, every muscle tense as steel. He launched several feet forward with a snarl, baring his sharp incisors. When the sound of Polu's snarl stopped echoing off the cement walls of the alley I listened intently, trying to decipher where the mystery threat was lurking in the shadows. I was greeted by silence, eerie and heavy, thick as the atmosphere before a great storm. I didn't plan on sticking around. 

 

I whistled for Polu and whirled around, intent on returning back to the street where the morning had progressed enough that the fog had dissipated and I could see any threat coming from far off. But I reeled back in shock when I found the way out blocked by a tall slender figure. The man looked old and frail, like he could disintegrate into dust at any given moment. In fact he looked like a walking corpse. His skin was grayish and clung to his skeleton like a fabric rather than a skin, his face was scarred and kept twitching into grotesque expressions. He pulled his thin lips back in a leer, revealing yellowing teeth. 

 

I heard a thud and a noise of pain from Polu and I whipped around, only to find a second figure, nearly identical to the first emerge from the shadows. The second guy was slightly shorter and stockier, carrying crumbling pieces of concrete which he hurled at Polu when the dog started to growl again. 

 

"Hey!" I shouted, anger flaring up. "Get away from him." I stepped towards the shorter creep, tightening my grip on my machete, fully prepared to fillet this guy when I felt a strong hand grip my wrist. Panic quickly over took the anger, and my mind froze. Polu barked and my wrist was let go suddenly with a shriek of pain from the guy who had grabbed me. Alarmed, I say that he was crouching on the ground cradling his hand to his chest. I noted an angry red burn traveling down his arm. Needless to say, I was shocked, and confused, but not enough to lose my head. 

 

The second guy lurched towards me, yelling in outrage as though I had somehow managed to attack his partner. I acted purely on reflex as I swung my blade towards him, though I have to admit I didn't feel all that much remorse when the machete sank into the side of his neck. 

 

The guy didn't seem all that much affected by the near decapitation. In fact he smiled when he reached up and yanked the weapon from his neck and tossed it to the side, not a drop of blood leaked from the wound. I nearly fainted. 

 

There was a beat of pregnant silence, where we all stood still, waiting. Even Polu and the guy with the burned hand were still and silent. Then all hell broke loose. 

 

Polu barked again and jumped, latching his jaw onto the arm of the shorter guy. At the same time the burned man pushed himself forward and he used his uninjured hand to grab a firm hold of my ankle. I stumbled when I stepped forward to help my dog and in retaliation I aimed a sharp kick down at the guy's chest, causing his grip to weaken. This time I was able to surge forward on sure feet and I managed to reach the second guy just as he was reaching for a knife at his belt. Too occupied with Polu, he hadn't seen me approach and he yelped in surprise when I yanked the knife out of his hand and twisted his arm behind his back. Seeing that I wasn't in any immediate danger anymore, Polu released the man's arm and made his way over to the other guy, growling and effectively making the thug draw back against the wall. 

 

The entire time the one I had in a hold hadn't stopped shrieking, at first I thought it was from rage, or even the bleeding wound Polu had left on his arm, but now I realized he was shrieking because his skin was burning. A blistering burn, just like his accomplice's, was forming from where my hand was clasped tightly around his wrist and slowly spreading down his arm. I dropped his arm and jumped back, staring at my hand in shock. There was nothing there that hadn't been there before and as far as I could remember I hadn't ever burned anyone like that before. 

 

_Be confused later, this is your chance. GO!_

 

Looking up I realized that both men were incapacitated. One was busy with his fresh burns and the other was trapped in place by a snarling canine. I scooped up my discarded machete, my pack and after quickly rifling through my pockets to make sure I had everything I whistled for Polu. The two of us took off at a dead sprint, throwing caution and strategy to the wind. I would stop and recollect myself once I was convinced that I'd put an appropriate distance between myself and those freaks. 

 

_How typical. You're the one burning people with your bare hands and they're the freaks._

 

That thought only spurred me to run faster....

 

**_~~ES ANIMA MEA~~ _ **

 

  
~~~~**Aden:**   


 

"They made you a Guide?" Jerome whistled and leaned back against the wall of the library, the scroll he was supposed to be studying lay discarded at his side. When I tried to remind him that he should probably finish doing whatever he had been assigned he waved his hand dismissively. 

 

"That can wait. I wanna know about the Council. Are they really as bad as everyone says they are?" 

 

I shrugged. "Some of them are, some of them aren't...Some of them are worse." I mumbled the last part, remembering the look in Nia's eyes when Gustus had preformed the branding. As if reading my mind Jerome leaned forward, "Did they do it?" He whispered, motioning to my left arm so there would be no confusion. I nodded and pulled up my sleeve so he could see the mark. Jerome whistled again once he saw the scar.

 

"I have to admit, this whole thing is pretty cool." He smiled, leaning back again. 

 

I scoffed, "' _Cool'_ , is not the word I'd use to describe the experience." 

 

"Well how would you describe it then?"

 

"Terrifying." I replied without missing a beat. "And painful." 

 

He just shrugged, "Fair enough." 

 

"It is weird, though." I mused, finally voicing the thoughts that had been plaguing me since the encounter with the Council. "Lexa's right. I haven't technically finished my training, it's kind of...reckless to assign me, especially to such a big job. I would've finished my training in a few months anyway. I don't know why the whole thing was so rushed. And most of all, I don't know why they wanted me of all people."

 

Jerome snorted. "Look around, Ade." He said, motioning to all the other novitiates researching, supervised by some older Virum. 

 

"What?" I asked, not getting his point. He rolled his eyes. 

 

"If this was what I had to choose a new Guide from, I'd go with you too." 

 

"Why thank you." I laughed. 

 

It's true that I was one of the oldest novitiates, other than Ontari, and yes I would've completed my training in a few month's time. Maybe the Council was just desperate like they claimed and they thought I was the best choice. They had said that Lexa, 'spoke highly of my abilities'. Still something didn't feel quite right. 

 

"I'm going to go find Lexa. I haven't seen her since everything that went down this morning." Jerome gave me a mock salute. When I reminded him to get back to work his salute turned into his middle finger. I couldn't help but laugh. 

 

I made my way out of the library, unsure of where to find Lexa. I figured I should start by looking for Clarke, those two were never too far apart. 

 

~~**_ES ANIMA MEA_ ** ~~

 

**Lexa:**

 

"You need to stop pacing, you're giving me a complex." Clarke mumbled irritably from where she was sitting at a table, pouring over a tactical map. 

 

"I just don't understand how they could dismiss me so easily. I've served loyally for hundreds of years and they push what I say to the side like I'm some-" I cut off at the long sigh from Clarke. 

 

"Sit down, Lexa." I did, though if anyone else had even dreamt of interrupting me and then ordering me around I would have knocked them down a few pegs. Except Clarke. Never Clarke. Or the Council, although that wasn't because of lack of desire. 

 

"You need to focus on something else, Lexa. You worrying isn't going to stop what's already happened, and it's not going to help your Legion. We have to prepare for tomorrow."

 

I shook my head. "I can't change what they've already done, but I can get them to change their assignment. Make him a Messenger, or a Scout, anything that'll keep him away from danger." 

 

It Clarke's turn to shake her head. "Messengers are being intercepted and tortured by the enemy, Scouts have been disappearing for months. You know perfectly well that he wouldn't be happy if he was holed up in the Coelum for all eternity, this is the safest assignment they could possibly have given him outside of the castle."

 

"Better he be stir crazy than dead."

 

"He's already dead." She replied coolly letting her attention fall back to the map. I scowled. 

 

"You know that's not what I meant, Clarke." 

 

She remained silent. I got her message loud and clear.  _"I'm done talking about this and unless you want to keep rambling to yourself for the next twenty four hours, then so are you."_ I scowled again. "Run by the mission by me one more time." I mumbled, defeated. Clarke glanced up at me, probably trying to decide if I was actually letting the subject drop. I was. For now. 

 

"We're attacking Mt. Weather." 

 

"Again?"

 

"Yes. The whole thing's been reinforced, it's practically a fortress. The Council suspects a lot of our missing Virum are being held there. Have you not heard a thing I've said for the past two hours." I debated lying, telling her that of course I'd been listening. I decided she already knew the answer so there was no point in lying.

 

"No, I haven't." 

 

"I figured as much." 

 

"So how many Legions are we taking." I inquired, trying to gather all the information I had missed.

 

"Two," Clarke informed me. "Yours and mine." 

 

I tilted my head in confusion. "We're attacking a fortress and only taking two Legions?" She nodded. "How did the Council approve that plan?"

 

"Nia managed to convince the majority that this mission shouldn't take priority away from the main front." Clarke said this in a very forced casual voice, probably trying to subliminally convince me that it was no big deal. It was a big deal. The Council suspected all our missing warriors were being held hostage here, probably being tortured, and yet this mission didn't 'take priority'. If there was one thing Nia always deemed dispensable it was the lives of the Virum. 

 

  
_And the humans._ My brain hissed. I shook my head, I wasn't going down that road. Not right now. Hopefully not ever. 

 

"You okay?" Clarke asked, she probably suspected where my mind had gone after she mentioned Nia. I nodded, pushing down all the shadows of the past. We had the present and future to worry about. 

 

A knock at the door made us both jump. Clarke stood up to tell whoever was on the other side to kindly beat it. We couldn't afford interruptions. 

 

"Aden?" I turned to see the very kid I had been worrying myself sick about standing awkwardly in the doorway. 

 

"I was just looking for Lexa. But if you guys are busy..." 

 

"Nope." Clarke answered quickly. "We're not busy at all." 

 

I eyed her incredulously and the look she returned said quite plainly,  _"talk to him or so help me..."_  


 

I rolled my eyes and waved Aden over while Clarke left to give us a few minutes. 

 

"What's up?" I asked, hoping he didn't already know just how against his assignment I was. 

 

"I just have one question." I motioned for him to continue. 

 

"You think I'm going to die." It was less of a question and more of a statement of fact. I started slightly. "Again." He added, halfheartedly trying to lighten the statement.  I hadn't expected such a direct approach. Once again I considered lying but then I remembered that he had been listening at the door when I had talked to the Council that morning. 

 

"Yes. I do." I sighed, deciding to be just as direct. 

 

"Why?" He didn't seem afraid, but I was sure he was. He put up a convincing front. 

 

"We're losing this war, Aden." I figured since he would be down there soon enough anyway I might as well tell him what to expect. " It's worse and worse everyday."

There was a few seconds of silence, "You think we're going to lose completely, don't you?" He asked.

 

I leaned forward. Resting my arms on the table. "The way I see it. They won't stop until they've turned every human into a despicable demon. And they won't stop until every single one of us," I gestured between us. "Is dead. Completely. We're running out of ways to fight them. And we're running out of people to fight with." 

 

He stared at Clarke's map, seemingly lost in thought. Finally with a shake of his head and a bitter laugh he said, "We're fucked aren't we?"

 

"Yeah." I mumbled, sporting my own cynical smile. "We're fucked." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Leilani/Aden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is going to show several aspects from the show in terms of what a nuclear war would do to the planet. So certain settings may seem familiar, also these next few chapters are taking place on earth and they may contain some potentially disturbing details, such as incidents of human trafficking rings, cult societies, and torture. I will try to mention anything beforehand in the notes so if anyone wishes to skip these parts they can.

**-Leilani:**

 

I loved the woods. They were quiet, simple, and for the most part an excellent source of food. The woods outside of what remained of L.A were pretty, that's for sure, especially after the sun went down when the vegetation glowed a beautiful iridescent blue, yet they still weren't quite as beautiful as the jungle areas I had grown up around at the base of Mount Wai'ale'ale. Maybe I was a little bias but I was quite annoyed with the fact that I was virtually lost. 

I had made it out of what was left of L.A. and ran full tilt into the forest where I was shielded at least a little bit. By the time I figured I was a great enough distance from the city to slow down I realized that I had gone miles in the complete opposite direction of my goal. The sun had gone down long before I was able to correct my course and I was forced to camp out in the middle of completely foreign territory. I wasn't pleased. In fact I was pissed. 

My mood wasn't helped along by Polu's constant pacing around the small fire I had lit to combat the slight chill of the Californian nighttime. 

"Will you stop it!" I snapped when Polu managed to wake me up from a doze for the third time. The dog only glared at me. I huffed and rolled my eyes. He had to stop eventually, I'd just wait it out. Except Polu didn't seem to tire of his escapade, he was still going strong 45 minutes later. I mean sure, patience may be a virtue, but it's not a virtue of mine. So I whistled for Polu and when he came padding over I wrapped my arm around his neck in a loose headlock and yanked the dog off his feet.

"You need to stop it." I hissed in his ear and I shoved his snout away when he tried to lick my cheek. "Lopo." I scoffed. The canine seemed to have received the message and he gave up his pacing in favor of dropping bodily down right onto my mid-section. I mumbled a couple more half-heated obscenities towards Polu and closed my eyes. Prepared to finally get some sleep. No such luck. 

I was woken _again_  by the sound of growling. I tossed my arm back to shush Polu, but I felt nothing but empty air behind me. Groaning, I sat up to look for him and found him sitting rigidly at my side, tossing his head from side to side. He pawed the ground anxiously but remained in place when another growl cut through the dimly glowing forest. 

Wolves. 

_Kokami._

"Come on, Polu. We have to get out of here." I've enough experience with the wolf like mutations that inhabited these areas to last me several lifetimes and I avoided confrontations with these creatures at all costs. I threw dirt on the few remaining embers burning and packed my stuff up as fast as possible. After a quick consult of my compass I called for Polu and the two of us began to walk in the vague direction Sacramento. We hadn't been walking long before I heard the growling and snarling again, this time much closer, and followed by a shout. A shout that was very much human. I hesitated while Polu continued on. I couldn't just leave someone out here to be wolf chow, I'd almost been in that situation myself and it wasn't a scenario I ever thought I'd willingly repeat. And yet, here I was, plunging into woods that I wasn't familiar with, following the sound of a pack of raging wolves, cursing my own stupidity while I unsheathed my machete and gripped my gun with only six rounds left. 

I wasn't surprised when Polu came trotting up next to me, he was my partner in crime. 

It wasn't long before I came upon a nightmarish scene. The trees had broken up just a little bit leaving a small clearing, dimly lit by the faint light given off by the plants. The wolves had formed a predatory circle around a figure in the middle of the clearing. The wolves themselves were intimidating creatures, effects of nuclear radiation have caused them to grow larger than normal wolves, as well as giving them an increased affinity for larger prey. My own experience has taught me that they were hunger driven creatures, undeterred by immense pain, and only stopped feeding when killed. I loved animals, I always had, and I felt guilty everytime I was forced to kill one, whether it be for food or self preservation, but these _things_ weren't animals. They were monsters...demons. 

"Don't make any sudden movements." I warned the figure when I had reached the edge of the clearing. When they turned slightly towards the sound of my voice, I caught a vague sight of him. Young, probably around my age, blonde I think. I couldn't see much of his face but I did notice that he was gripping a dagger in front of his chest. That wasn't going to do much good in the face of one wolf. A dagger against an entire pack was absolutely laughable. 

"Don't move." I repeated, slowly putting my machete back into its sheath, and pulling my gun out. I winced when I loaded a round and clicked the safety off. Six shots. Six wolves. 

_What the hell am I doing with my life?_

I took a single step closer, the moss covering the forest floor muffled my steps, but one wolf seemed to sense my approach and it whipped its head around to stare at me. I went rigid, as did Polu who went down on his haunches, hackles raised, teeth bared, a low growl ripping from his throat. The sound attracted the attention of some of the other wolves, effectively taking their attention away from the guy and on to me. _Great._

_ ~~**ES ANIMA MEA** ~~ _

**Aden:**

I was fairly certain that a pack of wolves couldn't actually kill me, I was sure that only a celestial blade could do that.  Still I wasn't eager to test that theory out. I also wasn't completely sure that my own blade could kill anything that wasn't...well...already dead. So I was a bit annoyed when I wandered right into the midst of a wolf pack while trying to locate the girl I was supposed to be Guiding. 

"Don't make any sudden movements." The voice startled me, and I gripped my dagger tighter when I turned to see who the voice belonged to. It was a nice voice. Much more...human than I've heard in a hundred years. Even Lexa tended to go monotone and stoic after extended time trapped in the Coelum. 

"Don't move." She repeated, and I noticed that she had pulled a gun. I couldn't see much of her, but I could make out her silhouette and the form of a dog crouching at her side. I watched as the wolves shifted their attention between me and the strange girl, each wolf debating which one was more worth killing. Sure, there was no way they were going to be able to kill me, but they didn't know that. 

The tension of the moment was broken when the girl slowly waved her gun in the face of the wolf closest to her. "Shoo." She mumbled, "Get out of here." 

I couldn't help but laugh derisively in the face of her 'shooing' away a bloodlusting wolf. The sound caused more of the attention to be directed at me, I could practically feel the frustration emanating off the girl. 

"Stop laughing, I'm saving your ass." She growled in a tone eerily similar to the sound of the hungry canines. 

"I'm so sorry. By all means, continue to scold that salivating wolf like a disobedient Labrador." I heard her snort. 

"Just my luck," She mumbled. "I risk my life trying to save a stranger, and he turns out to be a hupo." 

I scowled, I didn't recognize the word, but based on the tone of her voice it was probably insulting. 

Suddenly, a much more menacing growl sounded from the wolf closest to me. He was bigger than the rest. Obviously the alpha. And obviously unamused by the bickering between the girl and I. He took a few steps closer to me, closing the (already short) distance between us. 

"Watch out." She called, when the wolf looked like he was going to jump. I heard a sharp whip-like crack and the smell of gun powder filled the air. The wolf dropped heavily down onto the ground as the bullet pierced its side. Whatever tentative peace that existed had just been shot, and all hell broke loose. The girl's dog lunged towards the nearest wolf and another jumped on the girl while she was momentarily distracted. I swore under my breath and struggled to make my way over to her, as annoying as she was I really didn't want her to get mauled. 

I yelped in pain when a smaller wolf sank his incisors into my leg. Plunging my dagger into the base of this freaking  _monster's_ neck I looked around to make sure both girl and dog were still alive. Both were still going strong. The dog had a mutant wolf freak by the jugular and the girl had a machete braced against the throat of another while simultaneously kicking at a wolf that was yanking on her boot.

I managed to get a good strike at the wolf on her boot and she wrestled the other one away, baring her machete threateningly. One swift motion she reached for her dropped gun and fired a bullet into the wolf's chest. Another quick shot at the wolf wrestling her dog and she was on her feet. She gathered up her things, whistled for her dog and took off at a run. She got about ten steps before turning to me and with obvious incredulity she shouted, "What are you waiting for, hupo?!"  

I got up and followed her. I followed a complete stranger, a stranger who wielded a machete and a gun with enough accuracy to kill wolves, a stranger who was obviously irritated by my very presence. A stranger who may or may not be the girl I was supposed to be Guiding. 

_Shit._

**~~_ES ANIMA MEA_ ~~ **

We must've ran for several miles. When we finally came to a halt the girl leaned heavily against a luminescent tree, panting and shaking her head. 

"Are you sure we're far enough away from the wolves?" I asked, trying to speed my breathing up so she didn't get suspicious, I don't really tire from physical exertion. She shrugged and sank down onto the soft soil of the forest floor. 

"If we're not, let them eat us. They've earned it." The lighting was clearer here and I could get a better look at her. She was pretty. Chestnut skin, dark brown hair, I thought her eyes were blue I couldn't be sure though. I noticed she was extremely jumpy. Despite her obvious exhaustion she perked up at every unaccountable noise, and she never let any of her belongings out of her immediate reach, and she never once completely turned her back to me. 

"How's your ankle?" I asked when I saw her wince as she shifted her weight. She glared at me. "It's fine. I can handle it." She winced again while she rolled up her pant leg and unlaced her boot. 

"You're bleeding." I frowned at the scarlet blood seeping from a long gash caused by ravishing teeth. 

"And, you're very observant." I rolled my eyes but dropped down to sit next to her. 

"You know sarcasm is a barrier to healthy communication." I quipped. 

"Yeah," She mumbled, "I'm really concerned about healthy communication."

"You should start making it a priority. Your skills are quite rusty." 

She frowned, straightened her back into a more proud position and ignored me. I dropped down next to her, choosing to pretend I didn't notice her obvious annoyance with me. 

"Here, let me help. Do you have bandages or something." I reached for her pack but she yanked it out of my grasp and made another sound akin to the ticked off wolves. 

"I'm just trying to help." I put my hands up in surrender and she only drew more in on herself. 

"I don't need your help." She spat, savagely digging through her pack. "But apparently you need mine." She added. "You know most people say, 'thank you', when they're rescued from a pack of hungry mutant wolves."

'Thank you." I said sincerely. She looked up and the anger faded slightly from her eyes. Yup they were blue. A very pretty blue, like very deep water. I blinked trying to clear my head. 

"You're welcome." She whispered. 

"Now, let me repay you by helping you wrap your ankle." She bit her lip, contemplating. Finally after a beat her expression closed off again. 

"No. I can wrap it myself. But if it's so important for you to return the favor then...you can take first watch while I sleep. I usually give Polu first watch but..." She trailed off and motioned towards her dog who was fast asleep, snoring loudly. I snorted and I noticed the slightest bit of a smile on her face as well. 

"Deal." I extended my hand towards her and she hesitantly took it. "My name's Aden by the way." 

She tilted her head slightly. "I'm Leilani."

Later on after her ankle was wrapped, a small fire had been started, and Leilani had laid her head on her pack as a makeshift pillow she suddenly turned to me and looked me dead in the eye, a small blade in her hand that I hadn't noticed in her possession before. "If you even so much as consider laying a hand on me while I sleep," She warned. "I will sever a limb, slow roast it, and use it as bait in a hunting trap. Do you understand?"

I gulped, "Yes." She nodded.

"Good."

She rolled back over and he breathing slowed after several minutes. I looked at Polu who had slowly migrated over to my side, I sighed. "She's quite abrasive isn't she? I don't know how you deal with it."

Her dog, Polu she said his name was, looked up at me reproachfully. Another sigh. 

I couldn't deny that despite everything that had happened on my first day back on earth that even in the midst of an apocalypse it was a breathtaking place. I glanced around the clearing and my eyes settled on the resting figure of the girl who's soul I was supposed to protect. 

_Yeah, the earth was really beautiful._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lopo-Stupid  
> Hupo-Fool
> 
> Yes, finally Leilani and Aden have met. I will go more into Aden's duty as a Guide in the next chapter and how he came to be back on earth.  
> I have juggled with the idea of creating a tumblr blog for this story seeing as how it will (I hope) become very immersive and complex as it goes on and I would love to be able to share more with my readers than just the story itself. So I would love your input on whether or not I should go through with the tumblr thing.


	6. Aden/Lexa

**_Aden:_ **

It's been a hundred years since I've been on the ground. A hundred years since I had breathed in air that didn't feel tight in my chest. A hundred years since I'd felt a breeze. A hundred years since I've felt grass, or moss, or heard insects buzzing by my ear, a hundred years since I felt I was actually part of the world rather than simply a spectator above it. Everything felt so different on Earth, it was like when you hear a familiar voice but can't quite place where you know it from. Every time I brushed my fingers over the luminescent moss covering the tree I was leaning on, or every time I stroked the soft fur of Leilani's dog, I couldn't help but feel that vague sense of familiarity bubbling up inside me. Hours passed in this way, in this silent meditation of my new surroundings. I watched as slowly one by one each star overhead blinked out. The deep indigo of the sky also faded away into a muddy mix of coppers, golds, and reds. The colors were less clear from down here, the view was blocked by trees and the dimming luminescence of the forest vegetation. I watched in fascination as a small raccoon burst out of the brush and looked around before darting back into the foliage. The resemblance between the eye markings on the animal and the war paint that was usually adorned around Lexa's eyes when she came back from campaigns was uncanny and I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at the realization.

The noise must've alerted Leilani who groaned in her sleep and turned over, her hair falling into her face. I laughed lightly again while I watched her sit up and struggle to pull her hair away from her face. Once she could finally see she looked around and blinked owlishly, strands of her hair standing out at every angle.

"It's morning." She said simply, the edge to her voice was almost completely gone due to sleep.

"So it is." I nodded, and when she looked at me I noticed that her eyes were also much softer than they had been the night before. They still hardened slightly when she looked at me but still not quite to the level of mistrust that I had seen last night.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier? I would've taken a shift. You must be exhausted." Her tone was more suspicious than empathetic. I shrugged.

"I'm not tired. You needed the sleep more than I did." She narrowed her eyes but eventually sighed and called her dog over to her side. I watched as Polu ate up some scraps that she tossed to him and lapped up some water that she poured in a dish. She looked up suddenly and momentarily I forgot how to....well how to do anything really. Her hair was still an absolute mess, and her eyes still held that suspicion, but her cheeks were tainted red from the crisp morning air, and her lips were turned up the slightest bit as she talked. Around the mistrust, her eyes were vivid and her face was as animated as anything I'd ever seen. I'd been amongst Virum for a hundred years, I've been amongst angels for a hundred years, and yet I can't remember anyone ever looking so...heavenly.

"Something distracting you, mano maunu?" I started and I thought I saw the vaguest hint of a smile on her face. I shook my head, and frowned slightly.

"What'd you call me?" This time there was no mistaking the toothy grin that spread across her face,

"I called you, mano maunu. It means shark bait." I scoffed, the ridiculousness of the statement catching me off guard. She slowed slightly in her movements, I watched as she gathered her pack up, kicked some dirt onto the few remaining coals of the fire, and tried in vain to return some semblance of order to her hair. She finally turned to face me, her jaw set and her eyes sparkling with the challenge. She took a few steps closer, but I refused to back away, I had a feeling this was some sort of test, and I'll be damned if I don't pass it. I was her Guide, and if she didn't trust me there was little I could do to protect her. We held each other's gazes as she stepped closer. She only stopped when she was about a few inches away. Neither of us said anything. She was only a few inches shorter than I was, but the confidence in her eyes, the straightness of her posture, made her seem much taller than she was. I couldn't hear the insects anymore, but I could hear my own heartbeat as if it was an incessant drum. She bit her lip, and I think I might like this expression just as much as I liked her toothy smile. I took one more step forward, so that she had to tilt her head up just slightly to maintain eye contact. "Shark bait." She whispered and before I could blink she had backed off and stalked down the trail. I stood frozen for a second not quite sure what had happened and even less sure why my face felt so hot. When I had finally come to, I jogged to keep up with her.

"Where are we going, Leilani?" I thought that her cheeks looked a little redder than they were before too.

"We're going to the stream to purify you a canteen of water." Her voice seemed to have gotten some more of its edge back, but it was much shakier than before.

"I'm not thirsty. I don't need water." Leilani rolled her eyes, but the blush still hadn't receded yet. "Listen, mano maunu, I don't know what possessed that thick skull of yours to run off into the woods without any supplies but I'm not gonna be responsible for your death. So, if you wanna stay around you better start carrying your own weight." I shrugged, I was glad that she was willing to let me stick around, and I figured I might as well pretend to have basic human necessities, like drinking water, or eating, or sleeping.

As we walked on in silence I let my thoughts wander. Particularly about my new job as a Guide. It was a complicated relationship that a Guide was meant to have with the one they were guiding. From now until this girl died my soul was entwined with hers. I couldn't really feel my own emotions but the longer I Guided her the more I would be able to feel whatever she was feeling and sense the consequences of each of her decisions. Right now I felt nothing more decipherable than a strange ball of feelings and intuitions that I knew would meaning something with the passage of time, but at the moment I could only protect her from any threat that was directly on top of us. That thought made me walk just slightly closer to her side as the day wore on.

It was past midday when we got to the stream she was talking about. I sat by the edge of the water, and the feeling of the cool liquid flowing over my hand stirred the strongest wave of vague familiarity as of yet. I suddenly knew with certainty that before I had died I must've loved water. I heard a splash apart from the rhythmic gurgling of the stream. Looking up I saw Leilani sitting on the bank beside me, a much kinder smile on her face than I had previously experienced.

"You okay?" She asked. I nodded. What was there for me to be anything but okay about? "You had a weird look on your face." She supplied. I nodded, and pulled my hand from the water. I didn't feel much like explaining my moment, because it would mean explaining a lot of other things that I knew seemed crazy. She seemed to accept my silence. After a minute or so she sighed and drew her pack towards her. After rooting around in it she emerged holding a canteen and a small vile of brown liquid. "This," She said shaking the vial, "Is Iodine. It's used to purify water. You're going to fill your canteen, add a few drops, shake it up, and wait ten minutes. Got it?" I nodded and took the containers from her. I felt her eyes on my back as I did what she instructed. "I'm going hunting really quick. See if I can get any small game." She said and I could hear her gathering up some of her things behind me. I whipped around to face her.

"So suddenly?" I asked. She stiffened.

"Yes. I hadn't anticipated another mouth to feed." I noted the hardness to her voice and I knew I shouldn't push her, but the thought of her going back into the woods to hunt, so close to sundown, and all of that just to feed someone who had no need to eat anyway, it didn't sit right with me.

"Let me go with you." I insisted. She laughed, it was a scornful sound. "I'm not taking you out into the woods only to lose you once the sun goes down." If only she knew that was exactly what I feared for her.

"You're staying here with Polu." She continued, "See if you can manage to build a fire or something." Instantly alarm bells went off in my head.

"You're not taking Polu?" I asked. "No," She huffed, "I'm not." "Doesn't that seem a bit reckless to go out there completely uncovered?" I seemed to have struck some sort of nerve. Where she had previously been bent over her pack, now she stood straight up glaring at me with as much ferocity as a predator about to dispose of a particularly annoying prey.

"And isn't it a bit reckless of _you_ ," She hissed, "To stick your nose in other people's business when you should be concerned with keeping your head on your shoulders." She spun on her heel and stormed towards the forest. She stopped just before the treeline and turned, some of the anger had left her face but I could still sense it, underlying her calmed exterior.

"Please," She said, her voice soft but not pleading. "Just stay here." I nodded, but I had no intention of listening.

Once she had disappeared I gave her a ten minute head start before standing up to follow her. "Stay." I told Polu. I knew that if anything were to happen to Leilani's dog while I was supposed to be watching him she would fillet me. Immortal or not I was sure she would find a way to kill me. To my suprise Polu didn't seem to protest, (Much like I knew his owner would), instead the husky simply turned in a few circles and dropped down onto the rocky river bank.

I was surprised that Polu seemed to passive about leaving Leilani alone in the woods, and even more so that he seemed fine with me going to find her while he stayed behind. I guess he understood my motives were the same as his own, to protect her whether she wanted it or not. I smiled at Polu, and with a deep breath I plunged back into the forest, which had begun to fade into a inky black expanse of indefinite shapes and thick shadows.

**_~~ES ANIMA MEA~~ _ **

**_Lexa:_ **

"How did the attack on Mt. Weather go, Commanders?" Nia stood in the center of the Council's balcony, looking down at Clarke and I with barely concealed contempt. And I knew exactly where that contempt was coming from.

"The siege went even better than anticipated, Councilor Nia." I answered, just managing to keep the smirk off my face when I noticed the hard flash of her eyes.

"And why would you say it went even better than anticipated, were you expectations for this mission low? If so, then I must say, its a bit disquieting that we let such reckless military minds make these decisions. Perhaps we should put our armies under the authority of the entire Council instead of mostly under those Virum of past service." Nia's eyes drifted towards Indra and Gustus at these words, both of whom looked like the power over their armies would have to be ripped from their dead(er) hands.

"Those of past service are the most suitable to maintain our troops, Nia. And you've always had considerable influence on the movements of our military. I see no need to change our current standings." Councilor Abby spoke up, obviously displeased by Nia as well. Nia gave a strained smile and a nod to the other Councilor.

"Very well." She conceded, at the moment. "Back to the siege. Details, please." The 'please' did little to mask the demanding tone of her voice. I suppressed and eye roll. Thankfully Clarke took over, I was sure I wouldn't have been able to keep some modem of sarcasm out of my response.

"We recovered 212 out of our 218 reported missing Virum, we didn't lose a single warrior during the attack and we've taken several hundred Malum prisoners. It was an extremely successful siege, and we are now in control of Mt. Weather which should greatly reduce the number of attacks and abductions on our domestic and low risk Virum."

"Where are the recovered Virum now?"

"Recovering." Clarke said sharply, "They all showed signs of sophisticated and well orchestrated torture. Evidence of celestial blades, hellfire, and dead man's blood were found on all 212."

"Dead man's blood?" Abby asked, clearly alarmed. "It's been my understanding that Malum didn't know about our sensitivity to dead man's blood." Suddenly every Council member was in a subdued state of panic, even the most jaded Councilor looked uneasy. It was fine if the Malum knew about celestial blades or hellfire, both objects were difficult to procure and could only work on one or two people at a time, but dead man's blood was plenty on Earth and it could be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

The volume in the room had slowly risen into a roar and Nia had to practically shriek to make herself heard over the din. Once relative quiet had returned Nia spoke in a calm voice.

"It is obvious," She stated, "That one of our Virum has told state secrets and henceforth endangered us all. My best guess is that the culprit was probably one of those who were being tortured at Mt. Weather." There was a moment of tense silence in which everyone's eyes were back on Clarke and me. "I suggest. We interrogate every single one of the tortured Virum until the traitor steps forward. If no one does...Execute them all."

"That's ridiculous!" Clarke roared, much to the surprise of the Council, "They're _our_ warriors, _our people_. We can't just kill 200 of them because one of them made a mistake!"

"We refuse to have a traitor in our midst, so its been since the beginning of time, to go against the Coelum is to go against the very reason your soul still resides above Earth. So if by killing 200 extra Virum we purge ourselves of that corrupting individual then so be it!" Nia's voice held a power and I could see that much of the Council was inclined to agree with her. I grabbed Clarke's arm once I saw another outburst threatening.

I saw the anger and the fear in her eyes when she turned to look at me, but I could offer her a reassuring squeeze on the arm. We'd just have to hope that whoever told the Malum about the dead man's blood would come forward to spare the others. After all Virum were supposed to be decent people when they were alive, why should that change just because they were dead?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abby is not Clarke's mother in this story, she is just a Councilor done with Nia's shit. She is also sympathetic to Lexa and Clarke and later on Aden and Lei's situation. And my tumblr for this is officiallly up at es-anima-mea so if you want some more in depth information about the story that's where you can go (Previews, answers to questions, picture by my sister, etc.) Thanks so much for reading as always.


	7. Aden/Leilani/Aden

**_Aden:_ **

I'll admit, I was completely lost. The sun had just been sinking towards the Western horizon when I had followed Leilani into the forest, and its last fragile rays of light did absolutely nothing to dispel the darkness surrounding the trees. Even the luminescent plants weren't quite so bright here, and instead of an illuminating glow they simply gave off a eerie simmer. There seemed to be a lot of animals roaming around just out of my vision, I heard them shuffling around in the undergrowth and I wondered why Leilani hadn't just tried to hunt one of these creatures. 

_Maybe she did, and they hunted her right back._

I tried to shake that particularly disturbing thought from my head. If she had been attacked I would have heard her scream, and even if I hadn't, Polu certainly would have. She was fine. I just had to find her. 

"C'mon, Aden." I said out loud, something small ran right over my foot, obviously startled, whether it was my outburst or something else that had frightened the creature I didn't know, but I hoped for the former. Shaking my head again, I sighed. "C'mon, Aden." I repeated, nothing scuttled across my foot this time. "You're her Guide. Your souls are actually intertwined now, just find her." 

 _She couldn't have gotten far,_ I reasoned with myself,  _you only gave her a ten minute head start._

I strained my memory, trying to remember if anyone had ever mentioned any methods Guides could use if their charges got lost, no mention of such a thing ever surfaced. Mentally, I cursed the Council, If they had just let me finish my training I probably wouldn't be in this situation. Or I might still be, this girl was _extremely_ difficult. 

Suddenly, I heard a faint sound, quite apart from the normal noises of the forest, that I was gradually managing to push to the background. It sounded like talking, I couldn't make out exactly what the words were but they were definitely human. I followed the noise through thick patches of trees and bush, occasionally losing the sound on the wind and picking it back up again. Slowly, I got close enough that I could hear the voice above everything else. It was feminine and definitely talking, though I didn't understand the language, but judging on the tone, It was probably cursing. Finally, the darkness lifted just a little bit and I stepped into a clearing, the trees were thinner her, and the foliage wasn't quite as thick overhead. I could see the sky overhead, and I momentarily forgot my quest to find Leilani. The sky was a dull color, hanging somewhere in the lazy time after twilight and before true darkness.  A few stars were just winking out, they were much brighter and numerous than they were a hundred years ago, I guess there wasn't much light pollution anymore. The Coelum was up there somewhere, I realized. I wasn't sure if it would be shielded from my eyes like it was for the mortals, or if I'd be able to see the castle floating above the Earth. I'd never asked any of the other Virum how it worked, in fact I'd never particularly cared. Now I found myself hoping that I wouldn't be able to see the Coelum, it would be hard to blend into this world as my own world quite literally hung over my head at every moment. 

Sudden movement caught my eye. I had been staring intently up into the night sky, and out of the corner of my eye I saw movement up in the high tree branches. I stifled a laugh. There was Leilani, balanced precariously on a slightly thicker tree branch, attempting to slash at a rope with her machete. I noticed that the rope was suspending some sort of trap hanging several feet above the clearing, a rabbit had been caught in the trap. I felt a momentary  _something_ for the animal, but it was gone before I could isolate and identify the feeling, a simple spark of humanity that was snuffed by my inhumanity before it could truly ignite. 

"Do you need help?" I called, after another few seconds of watching her struggle. This time Leilani cursed in English, loudly, startling ever animal in the vicinity except the poor rabbit. Even the clearing was becoming darker by the minute, and I could just barely see her silhouette shifting in the branches, I heard a soft click  quite apart from the natural noises surrounding us.  

"Relax, Leilani, it's me, Aden. You can put the gun away." I heard her sigh and then huff. 

"I should shoot you just on principle." She grumbled. I tilted my head to the side and watched as her shadow slowly descended, the rabbit seemingly forgotten. 

"Whose principle?" 

"Mine." She explained, dropping the last few feet to the ground. I could see her clearer now, and I could also see that she was very irritated. 

"See, this attitude is exactly why you travel alone." The second the words left my mouth I knew I had said the wrong thing. I saw a flash of pain, grief, anger, remorse, and a plethora of other emotions unattainable to me, crossed her face. Her face settled into its usual annoyed indifference after a second, but her eyes were another story, they remained a melting pot of unpleasant feelings. I found myself wanting to punch me in the face. 

"Yeah, that's probably why." Her voice was stiff with hostility and I couldn't blame her.

She pushed past me and studied her, apparently not forgotten, spoils. "How the hell did you even find me?" She refused to meet my eyes and kept a tight grip on the machete at her side, probably debating whether or not to run me through with it. I shrugged. 

"I just...did I guess. I heard you a little bit off and just followed the noise." She made a soft sound of acknowledgment, but continued to study the trap. 

"C'mere," She said suddenly, motioning me over. I approached hesitantly, still unsure of her machete. Sure she couldn't kill me, but I'd have a hell of a time explaining why, if she did try. 

"What?" I asked, noting how pissed she still looked. 

"Give me a leg-up." 

"What?" I asked again, slightly more alarmed this time. She rolled her eyes. "If you give me a boost, I can cut the rope." 

"If you say so," I mumbled, and crouched down. She put her foot in my hand I quickly pulled her up, and with a sure swing of her blade, the rabbit hit the ground with a thump. 

"Is this your trap?" I wondered as she struggled slightly with dislodging the metal jaws.

"No." She gasped, as the trap finally gave away. I frowned. 

"This trap isn't yours?" 

"No." She seemed unperturbed as she picked up the carcass and snatched up her pack, which I hadn't noticed resting on the trunk of the tree she had climbed. 

"Isn't someone going to be pissed when they see that someone messed with their stuff?" She shrugged, but allowed herself a small smile. She clearly enjoyed my uneasiness. 

"Relax, the rabbit's clearly been dead for a few days. Any hunter worth his traps wouldn't go that long without checking. Either whoever set them is long gone or six feet under." 

"That's...reassuring?" She just rolled her eyes again, I could slowly see her becoming more of herself again, but I still felt like an ass for what I had said. 

"Would you rather be reassured, or well fed, Sharkbait?" She asked as she parted from the clearing in the general direction of the river we had left behind. I followed her, not at all confident that I could find my way back as easily as I had found myself here. Back inside the forest the darkness was much heavier than it had been in clearing, now that the vegetation was thicker and the sky couldn't be seen overhead. 

"Well, if you're giving me a choice between reassured and well feed," I mused once I caught up with her, just barely making out her profile as we walked, "I think I'd go with-" I stopped abruptly and spun around, glaring intently at the patch of trees we had just passed. 

"What's wrong?" Leilani asked, whispering just a little louder than the skulking wind, yet the sound still seemed extremely loud in the moment. 

"Shh." I hissed, never breaking my gaze with the forest. 

"Did you just tell me to-"

"SHH!" I hissed, more insistent, stopping her indignant protest. She fell silent. For several long minutes nothing moved, but there was a heavy feeling in my chest, like a ball of lead had settled where my heart should be. 

"Aden," Leilani grabbed my hand and tugged me away, "There's nothing there let's go." I allowed myself to be pulled along, but I kept throwing glances behind me, suddenly not at all convinced that we were alone in the woods. 

**_~~ES ANIMA MEA~~ _ **

~~~~Leilani's POV

I slowly rotated the spit, the smell of the rabbit roasting over the fire was heavenly, and Polu was practically glued at my side, watching the cooking rabbit intently. I laughed as the dog eagerly inched closer and closer, licking my hand aggressively every time I tried to push him back. 

"Okay, okay." I giggled, as he licked my nose. "It's ready, just be patient. Aden," I called, I could see his outline pacing in front of the dark back drop of trees. He stopped at the sound of my voice. "The rabbit's done, come here." 

"I'm not hungry." He continued his pacing, I rolled my eyes. 

"Whatever you think is stalking us from the woods, isn't going to be deterred by your pacing. You might as well just come get something to eat before your imaginary monster kills us." I heard him sigh, and I watched him sheath his dagger that he had been fiddling with while he paced. As much as I made light of Aden's uneasiness, I felt rather disquieted myself. But, I knew from experience that at least one person had to keep calm in a crisis, and I'd be damned if it wasn't me. I've been through too much to lose my head over some shadows. 

Aden came to sit rigidly across from me, on the other side of the fire. He perked up at every noise, never relaxing for a second. His vigilance, further spurred on my own misgivings. 

"So..." I started, cutting into the rabbit with my brother's hunting knife. "Where are you from anyway?" He whipped around to face me, clearly I had momentarily caught his full attention. 

"What?" He asked, startled. 

I shrugged, "I kind of saved your life yesterday and I really only know your name. So, where are you from?"

He hesitated. "Canada?" He phrased it like a question, and I couldn't help but laugh at the uncertain look on his face. "What?" He demanded, coloring slightly, "That's a thing, right? People are still from there?" I nodded, still laughing. 

"Yes, people are  _still_ from there. You're sure _you_ are though? You don't seem so confident about it." 

"Yes." He said, much surer this time. "I'm from Canada." He cautiously took some of the meat I offered him and chewed his lip as I fed some to Polu. 

"Where are you from?" He asked me timidly, I paused, wondering whether or not to be honest. Finally, I decided there was no harm in the truth, at least not in this instance. 

"I grew up on the island of Kaua'i, in a small encampment of people at the base of Mount Wai'ale'ale."

He tiled his head slightly, eyebrows drawn together in thought. "Where is that exactly?" 

"Southern Pacific." His eyebrows raised in surprise this time. 

"Wow," He breathed. "How did you end up here? If you don't mind my asking." I frowned. I hadn't expected this to lead to more questions. 

"I could ask you the same question." I told him stiffly, he frowned. 

"It's a long story."

"Yeah, well, mine is too." 

We ate in tense silence for a while, Polu slowly walking in circles from me to him, eating scraps and licking the grease off of our fingers. I noticed that Aden gave Polu his entire piece of the meal, I narrowed my eyes slightly. I hadn't seen him eat, drink, or sleep since I've met him, which honestly wasn't a very large time window, but still he had to have some sort of basic necessities. 

If I hadn't seen first hand how seem people have adapted to survive I would've seriously doubted that this guy was even human. 

"It's late." I said abruptly, pushing myself to my feet. "We should get some rest." 

"I'll take first watch." Aden volunteered quickly, also pushing himself to his feet, his hand drifting towards his sheathed weapon. I shook my head. 

"No. You stayed up all night last night. I'll take first watch. Get some sleep." He hesitated, looking like he wanted to argue, but he relented, and retired to a little bit away from the fire. I watched out of the corner of my eye he lay down, facing away from me and curled in on himself, Polu sniffed at him curiously and flopped onto his side, eliciting a soft "hmph", from my newest companion. 

I stifled a laugh, and rolled my eyes. If anything, at least Polu liked him. I mean, he couldn't be that odd if my dog liked him so much, right?

~~**_ES ANIMA MEA_ ** ~~

**_Aden:  
_ **

She suspected something. She'd been studying me too closely not to notice how...off I was. 

 _I shouldn't have given her dog my food._ I thought ruefully, surely that had to be one of the things that had tipped her off the most, after all she'd known me for two days and I hadn't once eaten anything, including food that was literally handed to me. That wasn't natural for someone who was supposed to be surviving in a war scorched earth, on the fringes of the remaining humankind. 

But I couldn't help myself, I adored her dog, he stirred the same sense of remembrance in me that the stream had. I was certain, just as I had been about the water, that I had loved dogs before I died, or at least spent a lot of time around them.

I hadn't expected to feel these connections to my old life, no one warned me about them, maybe no one else had ever experienced them, but I found that hard to believe. 

Either way, I had to be more subtle the next time I had an...episode, if there was a next time, Leilani had already picked up on the last two times it had happened, and I knew she was getting suspicious of me. I had to start acting more human, starting right now. Which means feigning sleep until she wanted to change shifts. 

I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to try to contact the Coelum briefly, I've only been away for two days but that can be like missing two years, especially with the rate at which we are losing this war. 

I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing, trying to concentrate on exactly what Luna had told me the day I was sent back to Earth. 

_"This," She had said, showing me a small chip that sat in her hand, "Is a Flame." I tilted my head, confused, because, well, it wasn't a flame, it was metallic chip. Luna smiled slightly, clearly she had had this conversation several times before. "It's not literally a flame." She explained. "Obviously. But it is the tether that connects Virum on the Earth to the Coelum."_

_"How does it work?" I wondered out loud, earning a disapproving noise from Nia, who stood watching intently by the door. Luna turned to glare at her, and I looked around the room where they had taken me, for the first time not so sure that I wasn't in danger. I was slightly alarmed to see that far off into the cavernous room, cloaked in shadow, limp forms of other Virum lay, motionless, as though..._

_"Are they dead?" I asked the Councilors before I could think better of it. Nia said nothing, but Luna gave me small smile. "No, they're not dead. They're Virum who are doing jobs on Earth for us." She motioned towards the line of unconscious bodies, I could only make out a few of them, but I imagined their ranks extended long into the darkness beyond. For some reason hearing that they were all alive made the entire situation even eerier than if they were dead._

_"So their consciousness is on Earth but their bodies are here?" I asked, stepping away from the figures on the floor. Nia continued to ignore me. Luna shook her head._

_"It's not...exactly like that. They have bodies on Earth as well. Their consciousness just travels between them. It's hard to explain." She cut off abruptly and motioned Nia over, who approached threateningly, like an animal on the prowl. She took the Flame from Luna and pressed it against the back of my neck. The metal felt cold and biting, even more so when the Flame started to dig into my skin. I started at the pain and tried to pull away, but Nia held me firm, much as it had been when my arm was branded. The pain was only momentary, but a burning sensation remained._

_"How does this work?" I repeated my earlier question, feeling a slight heaviness in my eyelids. Nia released her hold on me and I stumbled, Luna patted my shoulder, throwing me even more off balance._

_"You'll figure it out. Just concentrate and you'll be able to shift between our world and theirs. Just concentrate-"  I blinked, trying to clear the fog from my head, have there always been black spots at the edges of my vision? Luna kept talking, but I couldn't quite make the words out, everything was muffled like we were underwater. Blood thundered in my ears, the room tilted violently, and then everything went dark._

_So there I lay, just another body on the cold marble floor..._

The memory didn't really tell me much about how to actually 'travel' back to the Coelum, and they still didn't tell me how the flame actually worked. But, 'Concentrate', was the only advice I had to go on, so I was going to do just that. 

I counted my breaths, trying to relax enough to convincingly feign sleep.

_Concentrate._

I pictured a rope connecting myself to the castle, pulsating with the heartbeat of every Virum who now roams the Earth they used to know so well, before the fragility of their existence showed itself. I walked the rope like a high-wire, one foot in front of the other, adjusting my balance with every step, the ground slowly falling further and further away. 

There were times when the rope was thin and fraying; swinging and shifting with every step I took, my heart jumping into my throat everytime I looked down. That whole, "can't be killed by anything except a celestial blade", thing didn't seem quite as reassuring this high up from the ground. I took another step, the rope creaking, my pulse pounding. My heart stopped when the rope gave away underneath me. The ground hurtled up to meet me, bathed in darkness so that I could only see my certain death...

I sat upright so quickly I felt momentarily light headed, my breath coming in quick gasps. 

"Just a dream...Just a dream...Just a dream." I chanted to myself, waiting for my heart to stop beating against my ribcage. 

_You must've fallen asleep, somehow. You fell asleep, you had a dream, you woke yourself up, you're fine._

I haven't slept in a hundred years, I haven't dreamed in a hundred years, what the hell was suddenly so different?

At least sleep and nightmares are normal human things, I looked around to see if I had alerted Leilani, but I was shocked to find myself sitting in the cavernous, shadowy chamber of the Coelum with all the other comatose Virum. "Well, damn," I whispered, "It worked." 

I pushed myself to my feet, my legs shaking slightly. It took me several moments to fully gather my thoughts, the transition wasn't nearly as smooth as I had been led to believe it would be. 

I stumbled out of the chamber, intent on finding Lexa, or Jerome, or Clarke, someone I could trust to give me information on what's been going on. As I walked through the Coelum, I noticed there were a lot fewer people than usual about the Castle, and that those that I did see didn't spare me a glance, but simply walked on with their usually stoic masks pinched slightly. 

I found Jerome in the library, poring over a scroll, looking more focused on his task than I'd ever seen him. I cast a look around, noting that he was the only initiate in the cathedral sized library, meaning he was there of his own free will. Strange. 

I called out his name, but he didn't seem to hear me, instead he just frowned while he read. I continued to call out to him, but he didn't even acknowledge me until I had come to stand next to him. I had to shove his shoulder before he turned his head to look at me, and when he did he blinked owlishly at me a few times before everything clicked into place.

"Aden?" He seemed slightly uneasy. "What are you doing here?" I shrugged, I wasn't really doing anything more than checking up to make sure everything was still here. 

"I just wanted to see if there was anything going on."

"Why? What'd you hear?" Jerome stood quickly, gathering up his scroll and holding it as tightly and as protectively as Leilani held her pack when she thought I got to close to it. I shook my head, confused.

"I haven't heard anything. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, with the how the war's been and everything..." 

"So no one's told you anything since you left? You haven't gotten any messages?" I shook my head again, a little disquieted at the urgency in his tone.  He sighed and grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the library. 

"I've got some stuff tell you, but not in here." He dropped his voice conspiratorially, and he gave me a strained smile. "Too many listening ears. We're not really supposed to know." 

"Well, if we're not supposed to know, then why did you keep asking if anyone had tried telling me anything?" Jerome shrugged, not looking at me as he continued to lead me through mostly deserted corridors. 

"I figured since you're a Guide now they might've told you something, or Lexa might've." I shook my head for what felt like the hundredth time. 

"I haven't been told anything." 

We came to a sharp halt at the window seat where Jerome had found me just a few days ago, it already felt like such a long time ago. 

"What's going on?" I asked, when he made no sign of explaining himself. He took a deep breath, a seemed to cast around for a starting spot before finally speaking. 

"The siege on Mt. Weather was a success." He said, his face inexplicably grim. I tilted my head.

"But that's great news. What's got everyone all worked up?" 

"We recovered 212 missing Virum, they're secure in the castle." This was still fantastic news to me, I didn't understand. As though sensing I was going to interrupt again, Jerome continued. "Nia's holding them all in prison." 

"What?! Why?" I hissed. 

"Some of the more...freshly...tortured Virum showed signs of having dead man's blood used against them. Up until this point we were under the impression that the Malum didn't know how dead man's blood affected us. So Nia thinks-"

"She thinks that someone told the Malum?" 

"Exactly. And she's managed to get the majority of the Council on board with her. As far as I've been told, if whoever told the Malum doesn't confess, then all of the prisoners are going to be executed." 

I sucked in a breath, unable to formulate words appropriate for the situation. How could Nia convince most of the Council to kill their own? Did a Virum actually spill such a huge state secret to the Malum? How could we possibly win the war if 212 more of our soldiers are killed? 

"How did you find out about this if you aren't supposed to know?" 

Jerome pulled out the scroll, "Tris told me. Her mentor, Anya, is one of the Councilors that tried to oppose her condemnation of the Virum rescued from Mt. Weather." 

I nodded, I've always liked Tris, she was loyal. I was just about to ask another question, when a sharp scream cut like a knife through the still silence. I jumped and looked around frantically for any sign of distress, everything was still. 

"Who just screamed?" I asked, Jerome, my heart beating rapidly again. 

"No one screamed." He looked just as confused as I had felt a few minutes before. 

"Yes, they did. Didn't you hear it?" He shook his head, bewildered. 

Before I could say anything else another scream rent the air, so loud it made my ears ring. I looked to Jerome, sure he had to have heard it that time. He was simply watching me, seemingly unaffected. 

"You really can't hear it can you?" The puzzle pieces slammed together, horrible realization dawning. 

"It's Leilani. You can't hear it because it's Leilani. She's in trouble, back on Earth." Jerome's eyes widened in shock. After a beat he pulled himself together.

"Go." He urged. "I'll do what I can to keep you updated on everything. Go save the Earthling." I didn't even bother rolling my eyes, I just thanked him and took off at a run towards Comatose Caverns, hoping against hope that I wasn't too late. That I hadn't left her to die...

**_~~ES ANIMA MEA~~ _ **

I woke up in the same manner as before, momentarily too befuddled and light headed to make sense of anything. But the second that I pulled myself together I swore loudly. I was completely alone, save for a few burning coals. Leilani, Polu, all of the camp had completely disappeared. If I hadn't heard the screams up in the Coelum I would've suspected that they had just up and left without me. But there was no doubt in my mind that they were taken against their will. And I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to find them.  

 


	8. Even immortals need cults sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a heads up, though this chapter is not particularly graphic in terms of violence, there are very intense themes in this chapter. Just as a heads up this chapter includes:  
> -Being drugged  
> -Kidnapping  
> -Flashbacks  
> -Intense cult like practices  
> -Ritualistic sacrifice  
> -Language  
> -Not a too graphic fight scene, but people will die  
> If any of this bothers you, please tell me and I will post a chapter summary on my tumblr for this story at es-anima-mea,  
> ( https://www.tumblr.com/blog/es-anima-mea )

**_Leilani:_ **

I should've heard them approaching. They shouldn't have been able to take me completely by surprise. I had been so aware of everything, from Polu's loud snores beside me, to the creaking of the tree branches in the wind, so how hadn't I heard their footsteps?

I had been closely studying the map by firelight, wondering if it was wise to cut back into another city in search of more supplies, I didn't have enough to hold all three of us over until Sacramento. It was at that point that I realized that I had no idea whether Aden planned to accompany my dog and me to the city, or whether he had his own place he planned to go to. He hadn't mentioned any specific place, and he seemed perfectly content to follow us wherever we were going, though I hadn't even told him where it was we were going yet. 

 _That's a puzzle for another time,_ I thought to myself, chancing a glance at his sleeping form. He had been motionless and silent for several hours now, he must've been more exhausted than he had let on. 

It was at that moment that a hand clasped tightly over my mouth, muffling my shout of shock. I was yanked roughly to my feet, and I felt the cold metal of a knife pressed against my neck. I attempted to struggle but I was held firm by my captor. In a last ditch effort I tried to bite the hand over my mouth but realized with a sinking feeling that they were wearing thick gloves and seemed to not even notice my biting. 

While I had been struggling, so had Polu. I watched with horrible anticipation as Polu and another stranger wrestled into my field of vision. The person pulled out a syringe, it glinted in the firelight like the eyes of a feral beast, and it was plunged into Polu's neck. My friend let out a pitiful whimper and dropped to the ground. Icy terror flooded my veins, and with a burst of adrenaline I managed to yank free and launch towards my dog. 

"What did you do to him?" I demanded, glaring up at the two intruders. They stood shoulder to shoulder, cloaked completely in black clothing, with hoods that hid their faces. Both pointed knives straight at my head. 

"The stupid monster is just unconscious. He'll be fine." The figure on the left explained, though his voice held no reassurance, if anything hearing him speak made me even more afraid than I already was. His words were quick and harsh, without the slightest hint of remorse or kindness. 

The figure on the right spoke up, "Grab the other kid and let's go." His voice was different, it wasn't as harsh, but it was still cold and hardened with contempt. I had forgotten all about Aden, he still lay motionless about ten feet away. I searched frantically for a way to warn him, maybe he could get away in time, but before I had come up with a plan the guy was standing over him with another syringe in hand. I watched, my heart in my throat, as the man braced himself to plunge the needle into Aden's sleeping form, when without warning the man drove a hard kick into Aden's abdomen. 

I jumped and yelped in surprise. There was a beat of still silence. 

"Kid's dead." The man said shortly, sounding as casual as if he were describing the weather. 

"The fuck you mean he's dead?" His partner asked, obviously annoyed. He took a few steps closer to Aden, still aiming his weapon at me, however, I was too shocked to really notice it. Aden couldn't be dead, I talked to him hours ago, he seemed fine. Tense, and paranoid, but fine. 

"Fucker ain't breathin'." The thug eloquently supplied. I noticed that the man was right, Aden wasn't breathing. He  _was_ dead. How? I had been here the entire time. Dread filled me again, did he have the sickness? Is that why he was alone and empty handed? Was he just wandering around, waiting for death to catch up with him? 

 _No,_ I told myself firmly,  _you've seen the sickness, you know what it looks like. Aden doesn't have it, at least not in an advanced enough stage for him to die already. It had to be something else._

The uncertainty of the situation made me manic, I felt a strange surge of emotion, a familiar and sickening feeling of hopelessness. I couldn't lose anyone else. The rational part of my brain was reminding me that I had known him for two days, and I shouldn't feel attached to him in the slightest, and yet...

A dry sob escaped my throat and I surged towards him, much like I had done for my dog. I heard an inarticulate shout of surprise and I screamed as I felt a burning pain in my shoulder that began to spread down my arm and through my chest. I blindly fumbled with my other hand around the area of the initial pain, I yanked the empty syringe out of my arm and continued to crawl frantically, trying to ignore the way my vision was tunneling and my breathing was becoming labored. 

I screamed again when another syringe was jabbed into my leg, the burning sensation doubled, my arms gave out underneath me, my vision diminished and I collapsed onto the unforgiving earth. In the back of my mind I could hear the screams of the refugees, I could hear the rapid popping of the soldiers guns, and below it all, I could hear the crackling and roaring of the fire, slowly consuming everything I loved and lived for.

 _I'm so fucking dead..._ Was my last thought before everything went dark and silent and I slipped into oblivion.

**~~_ES ANIMA MEA_ ~~ **

**_Aden:_ **

_I'm the worst Guide ever,_ I realized after the third search of the campsite for any clues as to where Leilani and Polu had been taken. There was not a single sign that anyone other than me had even been here. The only evidence that they had been taken at all was the noises I had heard while I was at the Coelum.

_Okay start from the beginning, what do you know?_

The rabbit was a trap, that I was sure of. Someone must've set it up and watched until it was taken. We must have been watched while we cut the rabbit down and followed back to the campsite, that's what I had sensed in the woods. Our campsite was monitored until we appeared to be at our most vulnerable, and then attacked. There had been a struggle, they had had to fight Leilani and subdue her in some way. She screamed twice, however they had managed to captured her, it had been painful. 

A horrible thought struck me, what if she was dead? What if they had killed her and Polu, dumped their bodies in the river and taken all of our supplies? 

_No, she's alive. I can feel it. She was taken, her and Polu._

Then why did they leave  _me_? Why take her, her dog, and all of the supplies and leave me here? Clearly I wasn't seen as a threat, but _why_ wasn't I seen as a threat? I was right there, a few feet away the entire time, it just made no sense. I shook my head, trying to clear my head. I was getting side tracked, I needed to find out where they had been taken. 

Logically, it couldn't be very far. I hadn't woken up too long after the kidnapping. I hadn't heard an engine, so they weren't in any sort of vehicle. 

_Do people even use vehicles anymore? Wouldn't gas be impossible to get at this point?_

I shook my head again. Focus. 

Horses? I didn't think I had heard horses.

They were taken away on foot. They had to have been. Leilani and Polu were most likely unconscious, that would mean they were being dragged in some way, slowing down the kidnappers considerably. I could probably even catch up with them if I knew which way they had gone. 

_I found Leilani in the woods before, I can do it again, i just needed to remember **how** I had found her. _

I ran my hand through hair, beginning to feel the faintest breath of panic, of desperation, of hopelessness. I don't miss those feelings. 

_There wasn't a method to my finding her. I just did. I picked a direction and I went that way. It was luck._

_Or maybe it wasn't..._

I took a deep breath, and pictured a compass in my head, I watched as the compass needle spun in dizzying circles, sometimes abruptly changing direction. Suddenly, the needle came to a stop directly in between the N and the E. I mentally spun the needle a dozen more times, each time yielded the same result, Northeast. I opened my eyes. 

Northeast was upstream, the river seemed to be a fairly straight shot, not really twisting out of sight but rather melting into the darkness. I followed the river upstream, hoping against hope that I was actually on my way to save her, and not just widening the distance between us. 

**_~~ES ANIMA MEA~~ _ **

~~~~~~~~_**Leilani:** _

 "Quorum vita mors est Illorum mors est vita mea." I heard a whispering by my ear, sounding like a fall breeze rustling the dead leaves. The voice was crackly and weak, yet it sent a shiver of fear down my spine. 

It took a great effort, but I managed to pry my eyes open, I tried to sit up. I found myself restrained and the wrists, ankles, and waist. The surface beneath me was rough and wooden, like a quickly hewn table. 

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit...What the fuck did I get myself into?_

I turned my head from side to side, but darkness reigned all around me, I had no clue where I was. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my pounding heart. The air was stale, and it smelled and tasted like damp earth. 

_I'm probably underground somewhere...Fuck._

I jumped when I heard the whispering again, I had completely forgotten about it.

"Quorum vita mors est illorum mors est vita mea." As the whisperer spoke, I could sense their presence slowly circling me. 

"W-wh-who are y-you?" The after effects of the drugs made it difficult to get the words out, coupled with the stress of the situation I was surprised I could speak at all. The whisperer laughed a feminine laugh. The whisperer wasn't one of my kidnappers. How many of these assholes were there?

I flinched when I felt her hand stroke my hair. 

"Don't bother yourself with questions. All your worries will be gone in a few hours." I felt her hand leave my hair, and if I strained my hearing enough, I could just make out her retreating footsteps. While I was straining my hearing I could make out another noise, a sniffling and whimpering sound only a few feet away. 

"Hello?" I called, uncertain whether or not I actually wanted to draw attention to myself. The sniffling stopped. 

"Hello?" A tear choked voice answered back. I swallowed hard.

"Are you okay?"

The other girl gave out a humorless laugh. "Neither of us are okay." She said. I couldn't help but think she was right. But I wasn't going to say that out loud. 

"We're going to be fine. What's your name?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from trembling anymore than it already was. 

She sniffled again. "Charlotte. What's yours?"

"Leilani. Or Lei, if you prefer." I was struck by a sudden realization. "Where's my dog?" I struggled to sit up again. Cursing out loud when the ropes stayed firm. 

"They took your dog?" 

"Yeah." I sighed, slumping back down, defeated. 

"That's fucked up." Charlotte muttered. 

A beat of silence, then I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah." I agreed between chuckles, "That's what's fucked up about this situation. Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed about it. If they hurt my dog I'll kill them."

"If they don't kill you first." Charlotte reminded me. I frowned.

"We don't know their intentions." I tried not to shudder at my own wording.

"I do know their intentions," Charlotte sighed. "You're not the first one to end up in here with me. And you won't be the last." My heart skipped.

"What happened to the others?" I asked, but I already knew the answer, and Charlotte knew that I knew, so she simply said nothing. 

"I bet you're wondering why I'm still alive? After they've killed everyone else? Why did they leave me?" She mused after a minute.

"I wasn't wondering that."

She chuckled. "Liar." I could hear the smile in her voice. "Doesn't matter anyway. I think about it all the time."

"Have you come up with anything?" 

"I just figure there must be something wrong with me. I'm just not what they want. Don't know why they don't just let me go."

"How long have you been here?" I asked her. She hesitated for the first time. 

"I don't remember. They've fed me about ten times. I imagine it's been about a week and a half."

"They're trying to keep you alive?"

"It seems so."

I hesitated, but decided to continue anyway. "How long..." I swallowed. "How long do the others usually last in here with you? Before they're killed?"

I heard her sigh. "At the most?"

"At the most."

"A few hours." 

I swallowed and closed my eyes, but it made no difference, In my brain I could still see the sand in the hour glass slowly trickling to the bottom.

_Trick...Trick...Trick..._

"Hey, Charlotte?"

"Hmm?"

"How long do you figure I've been here?"

"At most?"

"At most."

"A few hours."

I hummed. "Thought so."

_Trick...Trick...Trick..._

**~~_ES ANIMA MEA_ ~~ **

**_Aden:_ **

I followed the river for about a mile before I became sure that I was on the right track. I started to notice strange patterns in the mud of the riverbank, partial footprints, and long low trenches that looked like something, or someone, had been dragged. After another half mile the tracks took a sharp turn into the tree line and I followed. It was harder to follow the tracks in the woods, more than once I lost the trail completely and had to search for it again. 

The trees here grew densely, and a few times I walked right into one while I was watching the ground. The woods stopped abruptly, and I stumbled down the slight incline at the other side of the treeline. 

 _Jesus, how big is this forest?_ I thought to myself. I found myself in another clearing, although this one seemed to be at the bottom of a ravine. A jagged cliff face provided a background for a dilapidated two story house. From what I could see most of the windows were shattered, the siding had mostly been stripped, and it looked like the front door was hanging off its hinges. A nearly collapsed shed stood only a few feet away from me on the house's right side, on the left I noticed two tall metal poles stuck into the ground. At the top of the ravine, the forest continued, large trees cutting dark outlines into the star strewn sky. 

This was were they were keeping Leilani, I was sure of it. I just had to figure out where. I decided to start with the shed since it was the closest. I unsheathed my dagger and took a few cautious steps towards the crumbling structure. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard footsteps and voices coming from the direction of the house. In a flash I ducked behind the shed, trying to keep myself as much in shadow as possible. 

"Is everything ready?" I heard a hoarse, cruel voice ask.

"Nearly. I sent Spero to get the girls ready. We don't want anything to jeopardize our time window." The second voice was strangely familiar to me, but I couldn't place it. It was still cold and harsh, yet there was something more...persuasive in the voice. I was strongly reminded of a politician. 

I was surprised by the word 'girls', so there was someone else being held besides Leilani. I shifted my weight so I could hear better around the corner of the shed. I moved my foot a few inches and just managed to stop from cursing, when I snapped an old piece of wood that had rotted off the shed. There was a pause in the conversation where I could imagine both men were looking around for the source of the noise. 

"What about the dog?" The first voice spoke up, assuming the noise to have been natural. There was still silence from the other man, as though he wasn't quite as sure as his companion. Then, I heard an sound of annoyance from him. "Kill it for all I care. We don't have time for useless creatures."

"We could use it in the ceremony."

Another sound of annoyance. "Just kill it now and get it over with."

"As you wish." I heard one pair of footsteps retreating, while the other seemed to linger. I could sense something in the air, a heavy, tense, something that made me hold my breath again. It was as though the now lone figure was trying to tell me without words that he knew I was there. Finally, the last pair of footsteps stalked away. I let out the breath I had been holding and pushed myself to my feet, careful not to make any noise this time. 

I chanced a peek towards the house. That was most likely where they were keeping Leilani and the other girl, as well as Polu. I figured I should probably start with Polu, Leilani would kill me if I saved her at the expense of her dog, plus Polu might be able to help me find her. 

_There's at least two kidnappers in there, most likely a third, one of which already suspects I'm here. I gotta be smart about this._

I cautiously made my way towards the house, keeping to the shadows and listening intently for any sign that I had been spotted. Once I made it to the house, I slipped around to the back, hoping to get in through one of the broken windows. However I found something infinitely better, storm cellar doors. After testing the doors to see if they creaked too much, and finding that they were miraculously silent, I slipped inside. I tripped down a few rough stone steps and stopped to gather my bearings once I felt my feet land on an earthen floor. 

"Took you long enough." A voice spoke in my ear, it was the man from outside who had suspected I was listening, apparently he more than suspected; he knew. I reached for my dagger, but my move was anticipated and it was roughly yanked from my hand, at the same moment, the man slid an arm around my neck and put pressure on my windpipe, cutting off my breath. 

 _Can I suffocate?_ I wondered frantically, as I clawed at the man's arm.  _They need a frickin' handbook or something that explains this shit._

"Follow me." The man growled, although I didn't really have a choice as he yanked me through the darkness. I was pulled up a second stone staircase, through a door, and onto my knees. I was too relieved to feel my lungs filling with air again, to fight back when a bag was thrown over my head and I was forced back to my feet. 

As I was jostled along, I could hear faint voices, and I slowed my breathing and strained my ears to hear better. As best as I could figure, it was coming from below our feet, from the very place I had been taken from. Had there been others waiting? Was Leilani being held somewhere down there? Had I really been that close?

I planted my feet and tried to struggle, I wasn't going to be dragged another inch. 

"Dammit, help me!" The man yelled as we continued to fight, neither of us gaining an advantage over the other, I felt like I probably would've been better in the fight if I didn't still have the bag over my head. I heard rapidly approaching footsteps, before I could brace myself against a two-on-one attack I felt the cold metal of a blade press against my throat, and I knew from the cold dread the slid down my spine that it was my own dagger against my throat, a weapon that could kill me as easily as if I was still mortal. I stilled, mentally berating myself for being defeated so easily. 

"Should we put him with the others, sir?" Asked the newcomer, I was momentarily taken aback by the new voice. I was expecting the henchman from earlier, but this guy's voice was younger and wasn't nearly as fearful as the other man's. 

"No, you stupid boy. The others have already been prepared, besides we only need two. Lock this one upstairs." He paused and I could hear the sneer in his voice when he continued, "Put him near a window, let him watch." I was roughly handed over, led about a dozen feet, then dragged up a staircase, the dagger remained unyielding. 

Abruptly we stopped, and the blade was taken away, "I know why you're here." The guy told me as he pulled the bag from over my head. I yanked away from him quickly and he made no move to stop me. 

"And why do you think I'm here?" I asked, turning to glare at him. 

He was probably a little older than me, his dark eyes seemed to study me with nothing more than curiosity. I saw the barest hint of a smile on his face. 

"You haven't been a Guide for very long have you?" 

I was too late to hide my surprise and the subtle smile widened. 

"The girl that was taken tonight, she's yours isn't she?"

I debated whether or not to tell the truth, but my hesitation seemed to be answer enough for him. 

"I knew, when I saw her, that she must have a Guide. She's...pure." 

I scoffed, the profanity, passive aggressive behavior and cold shoulder treatment Leilani was constantly giving me didn't exactly scream 'pure' to me. 

"Deny it all you want, but you see it too. There's something about her, something you need to protect."

"Why do you care? Are you one of us?" 

 His half smile disappeared, "No. I'm not."

I frowned, "Then how did you know what I was?"

He tossed me back my dagger, "It doesn't matter. Now, do you wanna save your girl, or not?"

"Of course I do. But how do I know I can trust you?"

He shrugged, "Its not like you have much of a choice." 

I sighed, seeing that he was right. "Can you at least tell me your name?" I asked, not even bothering to hide my resignation to trusting a complete stranger. 

"Atom," He said with a mock bow, "No come on, we don't really have time for all these niceties." I rolled my eyes, but followed him out of the small room he had led us into. I chanced a glance out of a dingy window while we crept past, and my heart plummeted. 

"What are they doing?" I hissed to Atom, failing to mask the urgency in my voice. From the window I could see the two metal poles stuck in the ground that I had noticed earlier, but this time a group of about half a dozen people had gathered around. I spotted two figures were bound to the separate poles, and my heart sank even further when I recognized one as Leilani. Atom back tracked to look out of the window, and I heard him curse under his breath when he saw the scene out on the yard. 

"They're already starting the ceremony, we have to hurry." He hurried off, still managing not to make a sound as he moved. I rushed after him, making a bit more noise than he was. 

"What ceremony? What are they doing to them?" 

Atom paused, hesitating. "They're going to kill them, burn them alive to be more specific."

"Why?"

"It's complicated, I'll explain later if I can, but right now we don't have time for this."

I nodded, more aware than before of our pressing time limit. "So how are we going to do this?" I asked. Atom threw me a look.

"Follow me." I followed, but I remained on edge, I was still weary of him. We passed no one as we went, I figured they must've all been outside for the ceremony. I fidgeted with my dagger at the thought, we had to hurry up, there probably wasn't much time left. Atom led me to a what turned out to be a closet, and he emerged with a dark garment in hand.

"Here," He said throwing it over my shoulders, "This should help you blend it. Hopefully, they'll think you're me." He concluded by pulling the hood up to hide my face.

"A robe?", I asked, incredulous, "Really?" 

Atom shrugged, "What can I say, we have a flare for the dramatics. Now, you're going to go out there and blend in with the crowd, and as soon as you can, you're going to get your girl and get out of here. I'm going to see if I can create a distraction from in here." 

I nodded. "One last thing," I added as an afterthought, "Leilani's dog, Polu, is somewhere in the house. That is if they haven't killed him yet. Can you find him?"

Atom nodded, "Yeah, don't worry. Good luck."

"You too."

We parted, and I took a deep breath before making my way outside. I tried to act calm about it, but when a high scream rent through the nighttime air, I found myself practically sprinting towards the noise, all the while praying, to who I'm not really sure. 

 

~~**_ES ANIMA MEA_ ** ~~

_**Leilani:** _

 I wasn't surprised when I heard approaching footsteps, Charlotte had prepared me for this, probably better than she thought she had. I wasn't surprised when I felt my bindings being roughly cut away, I wasn't surprised when I found it hard to fight back, the drugs still coursing through my veins, making me slow and uncoordinated. However, I was surprised when a pair of hands grabbed me and then were yanked back following a cry of pain from their owner. 

"What?" growled a voice that I recognized as the woman's who was there when I woke up. She sounded less ominous now, instead her voice was hard.

"Bitch burned me." The hurt man explained, a small seed of panic planted itself in my chest. 

_No. Not again. What's wrong with me?_

Even my thoughts were slow and uncoordinated, slurring together and slipping between my fingers before I could get a good grasp on them. 

There was scoff from the woman, "Then grab the other one. We don't have all night." 

I felt a momentary surge of panic at the knowledge that I was burning people again, but the panic subsided when I realized that I could use this to get away. Before I could try anything I heard enough to tell me that they were cutting Charlotte free too. 

"No," I managed to choke out. "Leave her alone. Stop!" My protests fell on deaf ears, so did Charlotte's own pleas and tears. I struggled against all the hands holding me, but no one else seemed to be burning, I let out a noise of frustration and kicked and punched and flailed to the best of my ability. I gave a particularly violent jerk in order to free my wrist from someone's vice-like grip and I hit the floor with enough force to knock the breath out of my chest. 

While I was momentarily winded, my captors used to opportunity to pull me to my feet and bind my wrists behind my back. I heard nothing besides the blood rushing in my ears and soft cries from Charlotte, telling me that she had lost her battle as well. 

"Don't worry, I'm going to get us out of this. I promise." I kept whispering reassurances as we were both led down a low earthen tunnel, and then up a rickety wooden ladder. The darkness surrounding us was absolute, but as we topped the ladder I could hear what sounded like wind, and the stale air lifted a little bit. We were still inside, I knew, but we were closer to the outside than we were before. 

I didn't have any chance to even process much about where we were before I was roughly urged up a staircase. I heard the dull thud of a door being opened, and all at once I could see again, as we emerged in soft silvery moonlight. Apparently, Charlotte and I were held in an earthen subbasement of a two story house that had seen better days. The grass underfoot almost reached my knees, and a cold breeze rustled the branches of a dense forest that surrounded the house on three sides. The fourth side, to my left, was blocked in by a steep, rocky, cliff face that rose a few dozen feet into the air and was topped by more forest. The sky overhead was sprinkled with stars and the moon cast a weak light onto the earth. 

All this I processed within a few moments with only one thing in mind, finding an escape route. The cliff would be of no use, it was too dangerous to climb in the dark with no equipment and the after effects off an unknown drug still coursing through my veins. The woods probably wouldn't be impossible to navigate, but our captors were most likely much more familiar with the area than we were and would have an advantage over us. Plus once we get away I still have to find Polu. 

We stopped abruptly, and looking around, I saw that we stood between two tall metal poles stuck in the ground about fifteen feet apart. The grass had been cut here, so that the area felt encircled. I glanced apprehensively at Charlotte, who seemed just as afraid as I felt. She let out a pitiful sound as were yanked away from each other and towards the separate poles. 

I held Charlotte's eye as we were both tied up, I tried to keep my expression calm and reassuring, 'I'm going to get us out of this' I tried to tell her without words. 

She seemed to relax a little, but she still remained visibly tense, which was only to be expected in the situation.

Contrary to my assurances to Charlotte, I had no idea how I was going to get us out this, it seemed there was a inevitable outcome, an outcome that was slowly dissolving me into a mess of anxiety.

Despite my best efforts, my mind kept momentarily descending into sheer panic.

_Oh my God, they're going to burn us at the stake._

_I can already smell our flesh burning, I can feel smoke filling my lungs and stinging my eyes, I can't even breathe enough to muster up a scream._

It took a tremendous amount of effort to pull myself out of these sorts of episodes. It was a mentally exhausting roller coaster, trying to remain outwardly calm, while I watched as a few of these psychos poured a foul smelling oil from large drums onto the grass, creating complex patterns that interconnected Charlotte's pyre and mine.

Charlotte was near hysterics, her entire body shaking, but she didn't make a single sound. I however, had plenty to say when one of the figures approached me, oil drum in hand. All of our captors wore dark cloaks that effectively hid their faces, especially in the semi darkness of the night. I couldn't see the figures face, but deep in my gut I knew this was the woman with whom I had already encountered twice before. 

I threw every curse I could think of at her as she approached, every foul insult, every threat. Technically, she'd done nothing too irreversible to me yet, the fire hadn't been lit; at least not this fire. But a different one had, a fire that burned inside me, a fire that burned in my memories. A fire that consumed buildings full of innocent people, a fire that destroyed my family, a fire that I wasn't about to let destroy anyone else.

I struggled to the point of bruising against my bindings, and I was beginning to sound hoarse around my shouts, I didn't seem to faze her. My shouts changed abruptly to a shriek when the woman splashed the rest of the oil over me. I heard a second, distant, splash, which told me that they had done the same to Charlotte. 

"Please," I heard her beg to her the hooded figure that stood before her. About four others hovered around the outside of the circle, obviously watching, and waiting. "Please. Why now? Why are you doing this to me after all this time?" 

"Isn't it obvious," The woman called, tossing the heavy looking oil drum to the side with apparent ease, I could hear her sneer as she spoke, "We're bored. And what better way to liven things up than a bonfire? And two is always better than one."

Charlotte's head drooped, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. I wasn't doing much better myself, I probably wouldn't have been able to stand without the ropes keeping me upright, and my breath was coming in short gasps. I couldn't form a coherent thought beyond a series of expletives and frantic prayers to anyone who would listen. 

"Start the ceremony." The woman commanded to the others, all but one moved purposefully, but the figure beside Charlotte stayed still. 

"Atom is missing. We should wait for him, Spero."

The woman, Spero, growled, and her opposer hesitated before continuing. "We need all seven people for the ceremony to be the most effective." 

Spero, seemed to consider this for a moment, there was a movement beneath her robe that made me think she was probably tapping her foot. Finally she gave a single nod. 

"Light the fire, that should get his attention."

"Spero, I really don't thin-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, you sniveling little welp!" Spero yelled, effectively silencing the man. "Light the fire, and it's his own damned fault if he fails to show. Or perhaps," She added as an afterthought, "It wouldn't be. Maybe that other prisoner that you burdened him with killed him? Can you live with that on your conscience, Custos?"

"I live with much worse on my conscience, or rather much worse that should be on my conscience but are as absent as our young friend." Custos answered, sounding defiant yet somehow submissive at the same time. 

"Then light the fire." I could hear a hint of a smile around the impatience in Spero's voice. 

Custos sighed. "As you wish." 

_No. I need more time. I still need to figure out a way to get us out of this._

"If you do this," I yelled growing desperate as I watched Custos and another person prepare a torch, "My group will find you. And they will kill you." 

Spero, laughed, so did Custos and several others. 

"This must be the hundredth time I've heard that one." Spero chuckled. 

"It's true." I tried to still the tremble in my voice and I used more conviction than I felt. "There's a group of people camped a few miles away. Me and my...my friend, we were on a supply run. They'll come looking for us."

"Friend?" Spero asked sharply, ignoring the rest of what I had said. "There was another one?" She directed her question to the group at large and everyone stopped what they were doing. 

"Yes." The man helping light the torch answered, "But he was dead when we grabbed her."

Spero let out a very animalistic growl and whirled around to face me, taking a silver dagger out of the depths of her robes. A flash realization made me think that her weapon was very similar to the one Aden carried. She bounded towards me and held the dagger against my throat. She held it tight enough to break the skin, and I felt a single drop of blood dribble down my neck. 

"Now." She purred. "How about you tell me about your friend. The one that we found dead." 

I swallowed, thickly and tried to crane my head away from the blade, but she held it steady. I said nothing. 

"Cat got your tongue all of a sudden?" She whispered, a harsh giggle escaping as she did. "Let's do this a little differently then. I'll ask you a question and you'll either nod, or shake your head 'no'. Understand?" She re-positioned the point of the knife, so that it pressed right against my jugular. I felt it break the skin again. I dipped my head down as cautiously as possible, trying not to cut myself any deeper than Spero already had. She smiled.

"Good. First question, have you known this friend long? Or did he simply just appear out of nowhere one day, seemingly completely by chance, and you just couldn't ever seem to shake him?"

I swallowed hard again, and licked my lips, stalling for time. 

_What do I do?_

"I've known him for years." I lied right through my teeth, keeping my voice as soft and deathly calm as hers. "He's a family friend."

I still couldn't see the woman's face through the shadow cast by her hood, but I could sense somewhere deep inside myself that she didn't believe me. 

"A family friend?" She clarified. 

"Yes."

"The same family that's encamped a few miles from here? From the group that's going to find you, and make all of us pay for all the horrible things that we've done?"

"Yes."

"And is that your final answer? Your final testament?"

I licked my lips again, and took a deep breath, savoring the cool air as it filled my chest, trying to memorize the scent of pine and damp earth, it was a comforting scent. 

_Not a bad last breath._

"Yes." I whispered, prepared for her to slit my throat right then and there. But she didn't. Instead she took the dagger away and put it back inside her robes. 

"It's a shame your friend couldn't be here to see this." She was still speaking very quietly, but it didn't matter. Everything in the clearing was straining to hear every word, even the wind in the trees seemed muted. The trepidation in the air was a palpable to me as anything.

"I'm sure he would have loved to see this display of such unwavering, and perhaps... ill placed, loyalty." 

I held my head high in the silence that followed this remark. 

 _If I come back as a ghost after this,_ I thought bitterly,  _She's going to get a paranormal ass kicking._

 Spero held her hand up for silence, which was unnecessary in the dead stillness that blanketed us all. 

"Start the ceremony, Custos." She commanded, her voice only a touch louder than it had been. "And start with her." She raised her hand to point opposite me at Charlotte. I felt my heart jump to my throat. 

"No!" I croaked, once I could get the word out. And once I did get it out, I couldn't stop. I shouted repeatedly, begging them to kill me instead as Custos approached the other girl with a torch in hand.

As the torch illuminated Charlotte's face, I saw that she was pale, her mouth was set, and her eyes were shinning, but she wasn't shaking in the slightest, nor was she making any move to stop what was about to happen. She met my gaze, and without words she told me exactly what was on her mind. 

She wasn't fighting it anymore, not physically and not mentally. In the time that Spero and I had had our exchange she seemed to have come to terms with the situation. She seemed to accept what was about to happen. Perhaps she felt it was long over due. She held her head high as the oil at her feet was ignited, and as billows of smoke slowly began to drift towards the stars, she even smiled. 

But her acceptance didn't stop the screams as the fire took hold. I screamed along with her, tears streaming down my face as a flood of memories threatened to drown me. I felt submerged, I clawed helplessly for the surface while something much stronger than me pulled me down towards the inescapable depths. My lungs slowly filled with water, and my skin felt like it was burning even though the trail of flame had yet to actually reach me. 

It wasn't until days later that I was actually able to process all that happened in the next few minutes, it all happened in a blur to me that night. But this is how I've come to remember my rescue:

Another figure came hurrying quickly towards us, he appeared out of the darkness in my peripheral vision. He stopped as Spero addressed him. 

"Atom. So kind of you to join us." She still stood between me and Charlotte, but she had turned away from me to watch Charlotte burn. 

Poor Charlotte, who had stopped screaming only a moment ago. 

"Is the prisoner taken care of?" She asked him. 

The newcomer, christened Atom, nodded. 

"Did you bring proof?" Spero extended a hand towards Atom, who approached her cautiously, stepping carefully over the wall of fire that was steadily making its way to my pyre. 

Atom pulled another silvery dagger out of his robes and handed it to Spero, who made a noise of satisfaction and turned it over in her hand with care. 

Faster than my mind could understand, the dagger had been wrenched from Spero's hand and thrust into her chest, the blade buried all the way to the hilt. Spero let out a shriek, a shriek that seemed to shatter the night like glass, it sent a shiver down my spine like death itself breathing down my neck, as though waiting to embrace me from behind. And yet there was something strangely sad about the noise, something that was to be pitied more than it was to be feared. 

I felt small and insignificant as the sound rolled over us, and the feeling persisted as it echoed off into the woods. 

When the noise stopped, Spero crumbled to the ground, and there was a single moment of absolute stillness, of unwavering calmness, before actual hell broke loose. One of the others pounced towards Spero's murderer, faster than any human should be able to move. Before Atom could be reached, a fast moving and growling bundle of fur barreled into Atom's attacker and wrestled them to the ground. 

I watched, still numb as the person threw Polu off of them, and stepped forward to throttle my dog. 

"Don't hurt him!" I tried to yell, but only a strangled cry escaped, and it was lost in all the confusion. 

Before a hand could be laid on Polu, Atom pulled the knife from Spero's chest and with expert precision, threw it at the offender's head. I watched, in what felt like slow motion, as the knife hit its mark right in the back of the hood, piercing the person's skull underneath.

This person shrieked too, as the knife lodged in. But this was a different sound. It was lower, more like a rumble, like a thunder cloud breaking overhead, and again I felt the presence of death. But it wasn't a patient embrace that death offered, instead I could feel it underfoot, stampeding on the back of a million angry stallions, ready to take all that challenged him. There was no pity in the sound, only anger, and a call for vengeance.

There was again another moment where time seemed to freeze, where we all teetered at the edge of an abyss, just about to fall. But this time something happened in that brief second of pause, someone seemed to materialize beside me, and he began frantically to cut my ropes. 

I started a bit when I saw this, his urgency surprised me slightly, but glancing around I saw just how fast the fire was closing in on me. I studied him as he cut me free, he was using a regular knife, in fact it looked remarkably like my brother's hunting knife, I repressed an irrelevant pang of irritation.

He was probably around my age, his face was anxious, his dark hair stood away from his head in utter chaos, but his eyes unnerved me. They didn't match the desperation the rest of his face held, instead they seemed to be like endless black tunnels, not a thing about his eyes were reassuring. They seemed...empty. 

He looked up at me, and gave me a wane smile when our eyes met, they were darker than I had thought. He reached forward and pushed some hair out of my face, only to jerk his hand back in the same instant, a grimace of pain replacing the tight smile. 

I had burned him. But our skin had been in contact long enough for me to know that his hands were cold as ice. Cold as death even. 

"My name is Atom." He told me, cutting the last of my bindings. Without anything holding me up, my legs gave out and I dropped to the damp ground on all fours, my body struggling to even support me in that position. 

My breaths came in short gasps, but I just managed to speak, "But if you're Atom, then who is-" I trailed off, trying to find a single train of thought that wasn't completely derailed was like trying to capture lightening in a bottle. I looked to Atom for an answer but he had disappeared, blending back into the darkness that he emerged from. 

I heard a shout from a few feet in front of me, and I looked up to see that the chaos had continued without my noticing. Two figures were locked in an intense hand to hand combat, while Polu was occupied with a third. I spied the silver dagger, still stuck in the corpse's skull only a few feet to my right. 

I crawled clumsily towards it, keeping the fights in my peripheral vision. I fumbled while trying to remove the blade from its macabre sheath, and when it finally came free I barely managed to keep from emptying the meager contents of my stomach right there on the grass. The blood coagulated on the blade wasn't red, but rather black as the surrounding night. I forced down another sharp desire to puke and instead studied the fight still going on. 

I watched as they fought brutally, neither had a weapon in hand but they still seemed to be dealing quite a bit of damage. A particularly harsh blow knocked the shorter of the two to the ground, and I felt a cold dread set in my veins as the taller approached, seeming ready to deliver whatever fatal blow it could, weapon or no weapon I could tell that the one on the ground was in trouble.

 _The question is, which one is 'Atom'?_   

The standing figure walked menacingly towards the one on the ground, taking its time, clearly savoring every second. Meanwhile, the one on the ground was trying to crawl away. 

I pushed myself to my feet, trying to stay as silent as possible. I heard Polu bark, and I jumped, afraid he had given me away. Instead I saw that the person he had been fending off had fled, and Polu barked as he put himself between the advancing threat and their next victim. 

The crawling figure pushed himself in front of Polu just in time to absorb a ferocious kick, groaning in pain at the aftermath. 

I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and steeled my nerves. Hoping against everything that I was about to take out the right person. And I lunged forward with everything I had left in me. The blade tore through the robes and flesh, only stopping at the handle, right through their back, right in what I figured was the lung. 

Their was another rumbling, thunderous shriek, another vision of death approaching with all the force of a hurricane, another call for revenge, and this time everything was so much more intense up close. I felt the cry rattle my bones, and my feet left the ground. 

I came down on my back, the breath fleeing from my lungs, my limbs shaking like leaves in a storm, and I rapidly tried to blink the stars from my eyes. It took me a second for my brain to realize that the stars I was seeing was the actual night sky, and not just a result of the violent way my head struck the ground. 

Slowly my mind and body stilled, relaxing for the first time in what felt like a lifetime as I sucked in breath after breath, feeling like I had just emerged after a very long spell under water. 

And then there was a face hovering over mine, a pair of blue eyes looking at me with evident concern. And then, a gentle hand under my head, slowly urging me into a sitting position. And then that same hand cupping my cheek as he continued to study my face, looking for signs of permanent damage I was sure. 

"I thought you were dead." I told Aden, after he made no move to speak first. My voice sounded flat and toneless, but I couldn't conjure the strength to change that. 

"My death was a bit...exaggerated." He joked, but he was tense, even my exhausted state of mind could see that.

I chanced a slow look around the circle. Robes lay discarded by Aden's feet, and similar bundles of robe clad bodies lay haphazardly around on the ground. Three bodies. Plus Charlotte's. Three murderers and a victim.

I looked back at Aden, he was watching me intently.

"What the actual fuck is happening in my life?" I didn't expect an answer. And I didn't get one. 

 

 _ ~~ **ES ANIMA MEA**~~_  

**_Aden:_ **

A little later, I emerged from the house. I spotted Atom, he stood in the circle, shovel in hand, beating down the last few burning coals with a savagery that wasn't entirely meant for the dying fire. 

"Fire's out." He told me unnecessarily when he heard me approaching. I came to stand next to him as he fidgeted with the shovel, his gaze a million miles away. He pulled himself back after a few seconds, looking at the three bodies with disgust.

"Three dead. That means three got away." 

"Do you think we're safe here? I mean, do you think they'll come back?" I looked apprehensively back at the house, where I had left Leilani and Polu. 

"No." Atom said firmly, jamming the shovel roughly into the ground. "They're cowards. They'll just find somewhere else to set up shop. Somewhere else to keep their sick fun alive."

"Is that all that this was? Fun?" I asked him, and I couldn't keep a slightly accusatory note from my voice. Atom clearly didn't completely agree with all of this, but he was still a part of it, whether he agreed with it or not. 

Atom sighed. "No. It wasn't all for fun. But that's not to say there weren't some, like Spero, who did get a particular kick out of it."

"Then what's the point?" 

He sighed again, running his hand through his hair. "I already know what you are, you're a Virum, a Guide." 

I nodded. Keeping silent so he would continue. 

"Well, I already told you that I'm not one of you. And I'm not. I'm a Malum, at least, I'm supposed to be." 

I shrugged, "So?"

He seemed slightly taken aback by that. "You're not gonna gather up your girl and leave? Run away and report me to your Council?" He sounded incredulous, almost defensive. 

I hesitated a minute before answering, "You saved my life today, and you saved Leilani's life, and I know that you wish you could have saved the other girl's-"

"Charlotte. Her name was Charlotte." He interrupted, looking at the body at the stake with an expression of pain and regret that was so human that I took a second before continuing.

"I know you wished you could have saved Charlotte too. So, no I don't care that you're a Malum, because you've done things today that I respect, and that's not going to change because of what you did in another life."

He chuckled bitterly, "I did some fucked up things in another life." 

I pointed to Spero's body. "She was a Virum, I know she was. And she did some fucked up things in her afterlife. I guess it all evens out sometimes, doesn't it?" 

He gave me a strange, searching look, before finally shrugging. 

"I guess you have a point... This cult it's kind of a public secret to a lot of people, Malum or Virum. Basically it's made up of those who left their realms, who left their positions, or who were thrown out. These people who can't go back, their essence slowly drains away, until eventually they're almost mortal."

I nodded. "I know. Your power drains the longer your away from your realm. So?"

"So, these people don't want to give up being immortal, practically invincible, all powerful, especially now that they don't have a war to fight in. So they started gathering around older beings, who knew ancient and forgotten forms of magic. They taught the younger ones how to drain the life force out of mortals to maintain their own immortality. There are little sects like this all over the world." He motioned around us clearly distressed, "And they specifically target teens and kids, people with a lot of life left in them." 

"If you hate all of this so much, then how did you end up here?"

He ran his hands through his hair, more distressed than before. "It took me a while, but I learned that the longer I was away from Inferos, the more human I felt. I regretted what I had done in my past life, and I regretted what I was doing then. So I left for good."

I couldn't stop myself from interrupting here. "Can you actually remember what it was like when you were alive?" 

"Only the worst stuff, eternal torment and all that." 

"Oh. Right." I nodded for him to continue. 

"Anyway, I ended up here after a while. I didn't want to stay in Inferos, but I didn't want to be mortal again either, because then I knew that I would go back to doing all the horrible stuff I did before. So, I came here, trying to prolong myself, hoping I could finally do some good. But, I still did nothing, I just let person, after person, after person, meet their fate just like Charlotte did. And then I saw them bring in Leilani and, there was something about her, something so, so-"

  
"Pure?" I supplied, using the word he had used to describe her earlier. 

"Exactly, She's special, I could just feel it."

"Yeah. I know." I whispered, looking back at the house again. I feel it too.

"And I couldn't let her die. It just felt like some sort of abomination. And then Custos caught you sneaking around, and, well, you know the rest." He finished, looking back towards Charlotte again, the same regret and sadness washing over his features. 

"I'm going to bury her." He told me firmly, yet still with that far away look in his eyes. 

"You want help?" I offered. He shook his head.

"No. This is something I have to do." He declined. I nodded, understanding at least for the most part. "Go inside." He shooed me away. "Go keep an eye on your girl. She's probably not in the best of shape right now." 

"No." I agreed. "She's not. Thank you, Atom." I said, catching his eye. "I mean it, you saved our lives." 

"Well, I have to start somewhere." He mumbled. 

"You're a good person." I told him sincerely, extending my hand.

"You too." He ignored my hand and instead clasped my forearm, "May we meet again."

"May we meet again."

And with that we parted ways, but thank my lucky stars that it wasn't for the last time.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is finally after about 3 months. Sorry for the long wait, I'm just a terrible procrastinator and it's actually going to ruin my life one day.  
> Thank you so much for reading and being patient.  
> Please remember any questions you have can be asked on my tumblr: ( https://www.tumblr.com/blog/es-anima-mea ) or even right here in the comments and I will answer to the best of my ability.  
> I love you all so much.  
> Translations:
> 
> Quorum vita mors est Illorum mors est vita mea- Their life is my death, their death is my life
> 
> Spero- Hope
> 
> Custos- Guardian

**Author's Note:**

> Coelum-Heaven  
> Virum de Lumine- Man/Protector of light  
> Facienti Malum- Evildoer  
> Polu-Blue  
> Kanapapiki- Son of a bitch  
> 'ilio hae- wolf  
> Kulikuli- Be quiet/ shut up
> 
> Sorry for all the languages but I figured the Angels should be fluent in a dead language, hence the Latin, and Leilani is from Hawaii originally. So neither of the languages are going away.


End file.
